Shadows Attached

author’s note:

I hear people saying they want to see shows with characters who look like them.  I say:

Even E.T. looks like me.  Even Rin Tin Tin.


SHADOWS ATTACHED

Years ago, some ruckus outside
roused me from my sweet blanket

and when I went to the window to locate
the source of the disturbance
I found men, women, children
running from the shadows
attached to their heels.

Seeing their fear pained me.
How could I help those poor fools?

I tried to call to them
but my little voice was lost
in that cacophony.
So I put telescope to eye
hoping to discern some among the throng
who I could awaken to reality.

But this closer look
changed my perspective:
before I’d seen them as “them”
but now I saw them as individuals--
none of whom looked like me
yet with each face I felt the shock
of catching myself in a mirror--
he was me but also she--regardless of age--
the child taking its first step?--me as well.

With that recognition, I realized
the best next step for me:
I would stop
and confront
those long dark pools
attached to my sore feet.

What I Learned While Alone: poetry ebook
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2022, Michael R. Patton

The Fable of the Woman Who Couldn't Stop Caring

author's note:

As I get to know myself better, I get to know everyone else better as well.


THE FABLE OF THE WOMAN WHO COULDN’T STOP CARING

Hoping to make her life easier
she decided to stop caring--stop
lying in bed late at night
asking, “What is the answer?”

Thus, our heroine embarked
on a life of leisure
and limited her mental pursuits
while repeating this mantra
to herself and others:
I just don’t care anymore.

And to the eye
she did indeed seem more relaxed
in the new somnolence of her days.

However...

in her dreams
she continued to search--

continued
to drive in darkness through heavy fog.

She still strained
to climb those stairs.

She still stared
into that tall shadow
looming on the wall.

In her dreams
she continued
to argue with him
even as his face
slowly became her face.

Knowing dreams don’t lie
she eventually stopped
pretending she didn’t care.

However
she no longer felt defeated--
after comparing her dreams with ours
she knew hope again:

she saw
though many don’t seem to care
the truth is
we’re all struggling to climb the stairs
through shadows and fog
sharing the way
with a menagerie of mirrors.

The Truth of the Dream: poetry ebook
dream steps blog
you tube channel
© 2022, Michael R. Patton

Between the Two

author’s note:

Johnny Cash once described himself as “a dove with claws”.


BETWEEN THE TWO

Disturbed by all
the violence I saw
I decided years ago
I should be a dove

but in response
a hawk shot up from my shadow
and shouted
Don’t try to deny me!

Fearing for the life of my dove
I pressed that ornery bird back down

and dared not ease my grip
because the demon
kept clawing and screaming--
demanding its freedom.

Meanwhile, my dove
suffered attack upon attack
from predator after predator.

Finally I realized the obvious:
in order to survive as a dove
I had to release that hawk.

My dove needs the eyes of a hawk
in order to protect itself from those
who live by preying upon doves

but my hawk needs
the heart of a dove
so it won’t see the world
merely in terms of survival.

Every day
I work to achieve
a balance between the two.

And though I often falter
I’m given solace by this thought:
my dilemma is not mine alone
but a problem borne
by the whole human race.

dream steps blog
you tube channel
© 2022, Michael R. Patton

A Degree of Peace

author’s note:

A full-time job, this life.


A DEGREE OF PEACE

Tired of seeing the constant conflict
of our world
I sought peace
in the quiet of the shadows.

Only then did I hear
the conflict raging inside me.

Only then did I realize
the true origins of war.

But only then did I see
this great opportunity:

if I could find a way to end my war
I could then show others
how to end theirs.

Yet after decades of struggle
I’m still battling conflict within.
I have finally conceded the obvious:
I’ll be fighting this war to the hour I die.

However
I can honestly say
I've earned a degree of peace--

not enough for me to teach anyone else
the way free
but enough for me to comfort some
trying to ease their conflicts
by healing old wounds.

I listen
not just for their sake
but for mine as well:

I’ve learned I can learn
from all of them

and find catharsis
when I again witness
how we struggle to be free
in this constant war for peace.

Dancing to Raven’s Song: a novel
you tube channel
© 2022, Michael R. Patton