Monday, November 27, 2017

Stopping My Car for a Deer after Hearing the News Report



author's note:

Years ago, I was told: we must lead our leaders.

I'm trying, I'm trying.


STOPPING MY CAR FOR A DEER AFTER HEARING THE NEWS REPORT

The radio tells me:
at the peace summit meeting
old men can't mend old grievances--

but who am I to criticize them?--
I still can't heal old wounds.

Our leaders lead us into fear

but who am I to criticize them
when fear still rules my head?

Angry disappointment
at the news and at myself
nearly has me driving blind

until I'm struck by the sight
of a deer lying beside the highway--
a casualty of crossing--
the rapid huffing of its chest
tells me death is near.

I'm flooded with empathy
but perhaps I put my foot to the brake
because I see a way to redeem myself
--if only slightly:

I will whisper some comfort
into the ear of that terrorized creature:
I'll ease its sad passage--

I'll gaze into its dark round eye
and beg forgiveness

for what?--
for the failures of all humankind.

But as I slam the car door shut
the deer abruptly stands up
on spindly yet stable legs

then in an instant
it bounds off across a brilliant meadow
to disappear into a copse of trees in shadow.

I hesitate for a moment, then follow...

I don't know what I'm doing
and yet I do.


What I Learned while Alone: poetry ebook
© 2017, Michael R. Patton

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Thursday, November 09, 2017

Pulling My Hair



author's note:

Awareness is key.  Maybe I should say "the key".


PULLING MY HAIR

Have you ever heard
an angel weep
as it pulls your hair?

These empathetic
yet merciless attendants
have promised me
they'll stop being
such demons

if I will only catch myself
when I begin to slip

but oh!--
in a blink, I can slip
and I blink so often.

I swear I'm trying
to keep my eyes open:

I weep and curse
as they pull me up
by the hair.

my war for peace: a poetry book
© 2017, Michael R. Patton

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Wednesday, November 01, 2017

Between a Lion & a Worm



author's note:

"The worms crawl in...the worms crawl out."
            -- from The Hearse Song


BETWEEN A LION & A WORM

I've seen so much shape-shifting:

I've seen lions
accept the lie told to them
and crawl under stones
to survive as worms.

But fortunately
a big cat can benefit
from living subterranean

if as a worm
it feeds upon
the rich life to be found
within the black loam.

But as that worm-cat expands
its safe space will become suffocating...

for our lion to rise
we must die the good death--
we must shift once again.

Afterwards
when I look back
on my life as a worm
a sigh of melancholy
may slip from my lips...

but no--
I'll reject all regrets

because by then
I'll finally fully accept
I had to lose
in order to grow.

© 2017, Michael R. Patton
glorious tedious transformation: a poetry book

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