Totems | Victoria C. Slotto, Author

Troy Lim photography via Photobotos

Last night an owl
visited my dream.

At first, a shadow
till the moon reflected
layer upon layer,
feathered phantom,
snowy countenance,
searing eyes,
her image in a well
of watery, starlit magic.

Gift of wisdom:
darkest light that shimmers—

plumbing fear,
extracting secrets,
harboring power
of the womb.

The risk is this:
you dare not go within.

The owl totem is a symbol of the feminine, the moon and the night. It is a bird of magic and darkness, of prophecy and wisdom. When she visits your dreams, you are well-advised to look within.

Written for Open Link Night over at dVerse Poets’ Pub hosted tonight by Joe Hesch. Stop on over. I suspect he’ll brew up a magic potion just for you.

Photo Credit: This photo is the work of Troy Lim as featured on Photobotos.com It is my understanding the work featured on Photobotos my be used for non-commercial purposes. If this is incorrect, I will be happy to remove it from this post. It was the photo (and a dream) that set my mind to working. I highly recommend this site to fellow poets as a marvelous source of inspiration.

Image via Wikipedia

For today’s prompt, let’s try writing a poem or flash fiction (500 words or less) using symbolism from a dream. Try a first person account from the point of view of the dreamer, write a piece based on one of your own dreams or pluck something from your imagination. If you prefer, you can choose an “awake” symbol, such as an animal totem.

Be aware that symbols mean different things for different people. For example, in my mindset a dog represents loyalty, friendship and fidelity. In the dream book I use, the author has it as aggression. Use whatever rings true for you.

Here’s just one of many resources that speaks to dream symbolism: http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/

I have an idea milling around in my head that I hope to post later in the week.