At dVerse Mish is hosting Poetics with an invitation to select an image by surrealist Erik Johansson, for more details follow the link below.
dVerse Poets – Poetics – Slipping Into Surrealism With Erik Johansson

Image: ‘this-one-2’ by Eric Johansson https://www.erikjo.com/work
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate.” Carl Jung
Let The Real Surface Not everything is obvious, mostly we ignore the shadow play, we sublimate while submerging all sense of what nips at our heels, waving while we are silently drowning in that which is buried deep within, our front is very fetching, so acceptable, yet all the while it is so volatile, and at the same, it is unreal, though we dare not admit this for fear of implosion, there are glimpses in moments of vulnerable reflection, slivers of opportunity to reverse the grip we hold so tightly, glimpses easily dismissed if glossed, in letting go, the real surfaces. Copyright 2023 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon All Rights Reserved ®️
I like where you took this, using the Jung quote with the image.
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Thank you 🙂 appreciated.
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“for fear of implosion” I like the sentiment here. xo Great words throughout. xoxo
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Thank you so much Selma 🙂
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These are beautiful and profound words!
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Thank you very much indeed.
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Excellent take on that image. I think dream analysis can be a way to do it.
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I love dream analysis, and I do some work on my own and with others, fascinating stuff.
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Awesome, Paul! We have a dream group that meets at the library every 2 weeks. It’s always interesting and its good practice in analyzing dreams. Picking apart the “symboled messages” is fun with a group.
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How wonderful, and yes, absolutely interesting, there’s something about sharing deeply our inner world that is liberating.
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Love: “we sublimate while submerging
all sense of what nips at our heels,
waving while we are silently drowning”
Now I wave while doggie paddling, and sometimes taking breaks to thrash about the water.🤣
Comforting to know others understand those glimpses. The last line is amazing.
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Loving your response Melissa, thank you so much.
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I love this. So perceptive and enlightening. I agree that we cover the “real” so cleverly. Sometimes I imagine a world where we all let go of the “gloss”. Thought-provoking, Paul and it really brought a voice to the image.
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Thank you very much Mish, I loved the images, really sparked for me, yes i imagine that too.
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Your poem reminds me of late-night Jungian conversations with my dad.
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I feel glad to know that.
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🙂
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The image looks, at first, so serene; I had to look at it upside down to get the real gist of it, which you have conveyed in your poem, Paul. I love the title and the lines, especially the nod to Stevie Smith:
‘we sublimate while submerging
all sense of what nips at our heels,
waving while we are silently drowning’.
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Yes, I loved her poem, she had a way with humour and words, thank you so much for this Kim.
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A very insightful and meaningful response. We shouldn’t easily dismiss these inner thoughts, because the external and what we see out there may not be the reality. See out that vulnerable reflections.
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Yes, so agree Grace, amazing when we manage it.
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Breathtaking.
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Thank you so much Ana ❤️
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Just beautiful 💕💕
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We let go of those ‘ slivers of opportunity’ so easily..
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That last line says it all, Paul! Beautiful piece!
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Thank you for you kind words Susi – a ppreciated.
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You’re very welcome, Paul!
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Wow!
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