Golden Growth

GOLDEN GROWTH

When the Inquisitor appeared
in a dream years ago...

I realized I was trying
to speed my growth
by stretching myself
on a torture rack

so I then began to use gentler tactics

and accepted the tedium
of gradual change.

A wise way, yes--but
by the time I'd finally
washed off enough dross
to shine a bit...

my youth was gone--
its golden possibilities lost:

in a dream, I saw
gold dust fall down
to disappear into the cracks
between worn floorboards.

I woke in grief
and remained in grief

until an old crone
(impatient with my self-pity)
turned my mind by asking:
does anything ever really die?

then opened the door
to a subterranean cache--
a garden flourishing
with spires of golden grain
and yellow orchids
dripping honey from the lip.

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
searching for my best beliefs: poetry ebook

The Success of My Failure

author's note:

I never had anyone tell me a dream where afterwards my life had changed for the better.
     -- Richard Ford, from Writers Dreaming, by Naomi Epel


THE SUCCESS OF MY FAILURE

I hesitate to tell the dream

because my clumsy words
will trample its textured elegance

but we are cursed
with the blessed desire
to express the inexpressible

and though I will fail
I may still succeed
if the place I describe
reminds you of a place
from your own dreams

and so you again know
a feeling inexpressible.

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

The Fable of the Songbird & the Frog

author's note:

When a man hears angels singing
he hears angels singing.
            -- Mary Oliver


THE FABLE OF THE SONGBIRD & THE FROG

When the songbird told him
you're no match for me
the bullfrog countered:

by who's measure?--

yes, many have opened
their windows to your song

but the few who've opened to mine
recognize a beauty less obvious
so aren't they more refined?

Only a wise heart can find
the aria hidden within
my harsh slimy croaking.

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

When I Saw Your Tresses on the Pillow...&...Great Life

dear reader:

Two for the price of one today.


WHEN I SAW YOUR TRESSES ON THE PILLOW

How can these wild dreams be
true tales of a tame waking life?

I asked myself when I awoke
from that dream in which
your tresses cascaded
down a long set of steps

then answered that question
by shining a soft light
over your fierce tangles
and discovering there
a waterfall of fiery life.




GREAT LIFE

Frustrated by the necessary limitations
of my crib...

I find release
in the expansion granted
by my nightly dreams

which, I'm told
are actually pictures
of my pen...

what a great life we secretly live.

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

Your Green Slip

author's note:

"In the Spring, a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love."
              -- Tennyson

And maybe an older man's fancy too.


YOUR GREEN SLIP

The moment
I glimpsed your green slip
I felt myself lift

up
out of that dark underground artery--

hooked by a hunger
I wanted to ignore
but wanted to obey

and obeyed, because
I knew I would return

to explore
as monks long have--
believing
as fools long have:

if we plot enough coordinates
in this confusion of tunnels
we'll eventually realize
the magnificence of a labyrinth

and know just where we are.

But today, I'll obey the hunger
and maybe tomorrow too

because to live with confusion
we must occasionally forget
our confusion
by giving and receiving
in the manner
of kittens and puppies.

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