Tangles & Tails: Tracey Kiff-Judson's Blog

Dream Scribbles

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson
Category: Blog

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with a flash of dream-brilliance and scratch something on a scrap of paper in the dark?
               
                        Image source: Canva

I do this occasionally, but in the cold reality of morning, I usually find … giBberiSh.

Here is one from a long time ago, that sounded oh, so poetic in the middle of the night:

              Thrice before the double dawn,
              the monkey … [indecipherable] gone.

             
                       Image source: Canva

 

Then there was this:

              Toggle
              Dazzle
              Ice Cream
              Soldier

             
                       Image source: Canva

 

My scribble from last Tuesday was marginally coherent, yet not the masterpiece imagined in my dream-brain:

              My poor, miser-man,
              you keep all you can –
              bibbles and bobbles
              you put in a can.

Not sure how you put a bobble in a can, and "can" can't rhyme with "can."  Maybe that one could be improved with a little TLC…

              You scrimp, and you cobble,
              devout miser-man,
              each bibble, each bauble – 
              tucked in a can.

             
                      Image source: Canva

 

Ah well, despite the futility, I continue to jot down pieces of dreams. Because …

 

Dreams

by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams 
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
… read the entire poem here.

Wishing you a happy Poetry Friday and sweet dreams!  Please visit Janice at Salt City Verse to read about her impatience for impatiens and a review of Carol Labuzzetta's Picture Perfect Poetry.

38 comments

  • Oh, I can relate to this post! In the middle of the night, I scribble things on any scrap of paper I can find.  Somehow my "brilliant" ideas seem less shiny in the morning.  "Dreams" is my very favorite poem. I have a poster of it that used to hang in my classroom, now it's on my guest bedroom wall. It has always brought me comfort. : )
  • What an interesting subject! I have also tried to scribble what seems like poetry on a page in the dark in the middle of the night. Nothing has ever come of it, but I think your miser-man poem was worth the effort. The Langston Hughes poem is a worthy and beautiful admonition. No gibberish there. 
  • Hold fast tod reams indeed. I love the dream like quality of your post, taking us through those scratchings. And 'bibbles and bobbles' just rolls off the tongue!
  • I do occasionally, but I never thought of posting them, Tracey. What fun to see what you shared & the final 'bibble and bobble' poem is terrific, photo, too! Thanks for the reminder of the Hughes poem, a favorite of mine, love the connection you made! 
  • Yes...why is it that everything looms larger in the middle of the night. I'm scareder of things I'm scared of and think good ideas are better than they are! I must be half dreaming. I think you still have some great starts to begin with. Alas, the cold light of dawn shows all of us there's work to do. Bleh. 
    • Linda, now that you mention it, yes, both good and bad seem to be elevated at night ... interesting!
  • I rarely do it because I’ll want to turn on the light. Then if I turn on the light, I’ll remember wet laundry that needed to be moved to the dryer. I’ll trip on a dog bone in the hall. A bad word will escape my mouth which will wake the dog who will bark to be let out of her crate. My husband will sit up in bed and ask groggily what I’m doing. And I’ll say, I’m writing a poem. 😉
  • Tracey, what a fun post. I love that you shared your nighttime jottings with us. I can so completely relate. I always keep a pen and pad of paper on my nightstand, and often find a list or line of poetry in the morning. Overlapping and indecipherability are common, as I write it all in the dark too. I love your quoting of Langston Hughes here too. Yes, let's keep writing in the light and the dark!
    • And, Tracey, I have to give you a high five for those perfect illustrative images you found for your nighttime poems. You made some great improvements on the miser man poem.
  • Tracey, I am smiling so big reading your bibbles and bobbles...I use the Notes feature on my phone in the middle of the night, and sometimes it autocorrects and I can't figure out at all what my dream brain was trying to record...alas. Glad I'm not the only one. xo
    • YES, Irene! When I try to type into my phone, thinking that at least it will be legible, it is a collection of utter nonsense! :)
  • Enjoyed reading your middle of the night scribbles! I've never written anything down and have regretted it a few times. :) I wonder who that miser-man is? 
  • What a lead-in to the great Langston Hughes! 
    I send myself emails in the middle of the night, leading me to sometimes think, "Well, that should've gone to spam." :D 
  • Yes to gibberish in the morning! But every once in a great while...a true spark or bit of captured magic. Love this!
  • HA!  Thanks so much for sharing these, Tracey.  Yep.  I used to do just pen and paper with a wee light, but, like Irene, now I'm more prone to use the NOTES on my phone and, like Irene, sometimes I scratch my head at the auto-correct when I actually read it, OR, like Karen, I email ideas to myself in fits of wee-hours inspiration, but I'm always a little concerned that I'm sending it to someone else in my groggy state....  I enjoyed your wiser miser. 
    • Yes, I email myself sometimes too. Part of the issue is that I often don't both to put on my glasses, so now that you mention it ... who knows who I might have emailed!! Haha!
  • I very much appreciate when fellow writers/poets share their processes. What you describe here, Tracey is so familiar. I too have written poems concerning what all too frequently happens when my head hits the pillow. Tomorrow's words arrive prematurely, to tease me with their potential. Thank goodness for writer's notebooks! Your writing here is so insightful. 
  • Am I the only one who sleeps blissfully through any attempts by my subconscious to give me ideas for poems?!?
  • Thanks for sharing all your nighttime sparks and inspirations. There's definitely something intriguing about those bibbles and bobbles! Having some issues with insomnia, I try not to wake up enough to jot something down, but then I mourn its loss in the morning. 
  • I love this! I can relate. I even bought pens that light up at the tip so I can write those not-so-brilliant thoughts down in the middle of the night. :) 
  • Tracey, I often have dreams and wish that I could remember them to write about. At least you scribble thoughts down. Your last poem is a great start. I guess I should write down my thoughts. Thanks for sharing what your mind thought.
    • Carol, I usually can't remember my dreams in the morning either. Oddly, as I start to fall asleep the next night they come back to me, as if the story is continuing!
  • Tracey, I think your bits of baubles are small treasures waiting for some daylight…
    I can definitely relate to the gibberish that we may scribble away at night, and capturing the full dream is often the challenge for me, thanks!
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