Before a Step

author’s note:

I may be a fraidy cat.  But I’m a fraidy cat with curiosity.
 

BEFORE A STEP

In the dream, a door swings open

as if daring me to step inside.

I want to accept
but because I see
only darkness beyond
I hesitate

even though I know
I’ll eventually step—
just because I’m so
damn curious.

If I’d employed that guide
I wouldn’t feel this fear

but without fear
how I can realize my strength?

Yes, when I finally step
at first, I’ll feel lost

but whatever path I then find
will be my own.
 

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
what I learned while alone: poetry ebook

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Inferno Dog

author’s note:

I believe the whole human race has entered the borderland.
 

INFERNO DOG

Last night, I again saw that dog
with the spinning inferno eyes—

the one that wants
to lead me from this scrub land
and into and through
the forest so dense.

In a previous dream
I’d stopped at that twilight border—
afraid to enter the extreme
shadowy wonder…
even with the guide dog.

However this time
I forced myself to step

only to trip
over my own shoelaces:

as in other dreams
my laces had somehow gotten tangled.

So once again, I knelt down
and worked to un-knot knots

as the dog watched,
a smile at the corners of its mouth—
it knows I know
I can’t escape the inevitable.
 

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
Survival: poetry ebook

Sleeping with the Whale

author’s note:

“Don’t wake him up.  He’s got insomnia—he’s trying to sleep it off.”
      — from the Marx Bros.’ A Night at the Opera
 

SLEEPING WITH THE WHALE

When I wake up
in the depth of night
I often feel a lump
—a whale hump—
beneath my dream pillow.

I’ll then adjust my head
and shift and twist
but I can only ever get
semi-comfortable:

the truth is,
in my heart I sense
the beast waiting for me
beneath the waves…

even at rest we don’t rest—

both day and night
we’re learning
how to ride this whale.
 

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
what I learned while alone: poetry ebook

The Fable of the Old Man & the Bumpkin

author’s note:

Do we become stronger or do we gradually realize how strong we actually are?
 

THE FABLE OF THE OLD MAN & THE BUMPKIN

An old man sitting in a tree
begged a young bumpkin
passing by on the path below
to carry him across the river.

The lad gladly complied…

but when he reached the opposite side
he felt the burden lift from his back
then turned to find
the old man laughing
in the branches of that tree
where our story began.

But that’s not the end:
he’s toted that codger
over the water
again and again and again

even though the geezer merely whistles
when asked how and why
he keeps vaporizing.

So stop
I told the green rustic

to which he replied:
Just look how strong
my arms and legs and back
have become

and besides
this way
I get to help someone else
not just once…not just twice
but as many times as I wish.
 

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
myth steps blog