Someday I'll Stay on My Feet

author's note:

Some argue over whether we evolved in the past...

To me, the more important question is: can we evolve in the future?


SOMEDAY I'LL STAY ON MY FEET

I usually crawl along

until
my desire to see more
overcomes
my instinct for safety

then I will stand

and walk until
I see more
than my little mind can handle

then I'll go blank
and trip once again
then once again awaken
as I land hard on my chin.

But the more I see
the more I want to see
so I believe
someday, I'll stay on my feet--
no, I won't fall asleep:

the desire to witness
will finally outweigh
the anxiety I feel at the sight
of such grand vistas of life.

© 2019, Michael R. Patton
what I learned while alone: poetry ebook

Joining the Chorus

author's note:

“Truth!  Stark naked truth...”
         -- John Cleland


JOINING THE CHORUS

Why should I be embarrassed
by this scar on my chin?--

after all
I have worked hard to heal
and I think I've stitched well.

Yet I feel still ashamed--
angry at how I allowed
myself to be wounded--
angry at my weakness.

Perhaps I can finally lift myself
above that injurious belief
by joining the chorus of those who sing:
these scars show our strength!

But to truly refresh us
confession must be honest
so I'll add to my song:
I haven't healed completely--
otherwise, you wouldn't see a scar.

Such relief as I raise my voice--
I'm so tired of trying to hide
the mark that defies the mask:

last night in a dream
a woman felt embarrassed
so I turned off the light

but I could still see her scars--
each one shone in the dark.

© 2019, Michael R. Patton
what I learned while alone: poetry ebook

A Better Fool

author's note:

Just once, I would've liked to have seen Wile E. Coyote ring Road Runner's neck.


A BETTER FOOL

As a child, I admired
the heroic defeat--

for instance:

the weary warrior rising to defend
poor children cowering in shadow corners--
she struggles--relentless--
though she knows her sacrifice
will not end the grief

or
the fallen explorer--
as he slowly fades, he raises his arms
toward the white sparkling peak--
just out of reach.

Such stories told me:
you need not win
in order to ascend to glory--
by remaining strong in abject loss
you can earn a place
in the hall of the brave.

Obsession
could actually lift me to grace.

But wait--
what about those cartoons
of the desert coyote obsessively pursuing
that empty-headed ground-dwelling bird?--

no grandeur when
the bomb explodes in his hand--
toasting his foolish head
to a burnt-black crisp

or when
the chase leads him off a cliff--
his bewildered eyes looking at us
for a mid-air moment of stillness--

saying:
"oh no!--but oh well--
 another hard landing."

The folly of the coyote
woke me to this risk:

by fighting ever onward
despite repeated failure
I could become rabidly absurd

but no--not if I went for bigger game:

if I elevated my goals
I might still be a fool
but I wouldn't be a silly fool--

by always reaching higher
I'd feel fulfilled even if I failed--

even if I suffered a million losses
I would not lose.

© 2019, Michael R. Patton
40 New Fables: ebook