Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Washing in the Rain



author's note:

Some may ask: does this the poem describe an actual event?

Metaphorically, yes.


WASHING IN THE RAIN

I knelt down in an empty field
I raised my arms to the storm

and begged
the god of lightning
to blast me open--

so desperate
to break my stubborn bars
I'd risk total destruction.

But once again that god
refused to respond
and once again I realized:

you don't tell the gods
what to do--
they tell you.

And so, once again
I laid myself down
in defeat and wept
and let

the blank rain soak
into my blood
into my bones--

cleansed, I was
though in the mud:

I love
to rediscover
that cold blue naked purity

until
my shivering
goes from mild to violent--

the body's way of saying
be sensible now--go inside

and so I did
and so I sit
working on this poem--
working to open:

obeying the orders
of the god of myself--
though I'm so annoyed
to hear, once again:

be patient.  Go slow.

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

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Friday, October 12, 2018

Another Battle Won



author's note:

"We have met the enemy and he is us."
       -- Walt Kelly, Pogo


ANOTHER BATTLE WON

Yesterday, as I skipped
down the sidewalk
I thought I glimpsed
a vulture circling!

and like a fool, I ran
ran again
without thinking

and as fools often do
I tripped--
tripped again
and hit

the hard ground hard

then found only empty sky above.

I tried to laugh
but as I lay on my back
I began to feel
my real adversary again--
the parasite of needless fear:

its chattering teeth
trying to devour
the will of my better desire--

I wanted to jump up and run!

But as I fought to find
the strength to stand
I woke again
to that other feeling--
a feeling buried deep:

so subtle, so quiet, yet so solid--

a knowingness that says: all is well
(despite what you think)

a knowingness beyond reason.

The parasite then lost its teeth
(for the moment at least)
and I stood up
and walked on...

another battle won.

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
my war for peace: poetry ebook

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Monday, October 01, 2018

Spinning & Turning



author's note:

With regret, I cut these lines from the poem below:

"as any witch who sweeps at night
  would tell you:
  change often goes unnoticed."


SPINNING & TURNING

A year or so ago
I awoke from a dream
of a cock crowing on a rooftop--
silhouetted distinctly
by the pink-gold of a rising sun

which I believed symbolized
the arrival of a glorious new life
after decades of hard labor.

But when the weeks passed
and I continued to spin
without appearing to turn
I began to doubt again--

what more could I do
to shatter whatever invisible barrier
blocked my forward progress?--

perhaps something new
would bring in the new

so I began a slew
of fresh healthy activities:

I chanted along
with a recording of monks

and wrote daily in a dream journal--
analyzing scenes of mirrors and fog.

I surreptitiously laid
a stone walkway
in our city park--
a monument to the many strong people
working in the shadows
for the good of all.

I rearranged my files
then rearranged the rearrangement--

signaling to
the powers that be
(maybe outside, maybe within me)
that I was quite ready
for the disruption
of a new beginning.

But despite all I did
I still seemed to spin
without turning

so I again darkened with doubt

until a dream showed
pink-gold sunrays
erasing the gray
of a skylight above me.

Waking in joy
I then began to crow--
finally I understood:

though the mornings
may seem the same
I am turning my world.

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

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