The Fable of the Good Couple

author’s note:

Narcissus looked into a mirror…

But he never really saw himself.


THE FABLE OF THE GOOD COUPLE

He saw the light in her
and she saw the light in him
and so
they fell in love

then suddenly became monsters
to one another.
Why?

Why did they snarl and snap
when alone together?

The spirits standing behind them knew--
they knew

how that guy always prided himself
on his goodness.
How he loved hearing his goodness praised!

They knew
that gal prided herself
on her goodness too.
How she loved hearing her light praised!

They knew
she now worried
he might outshine her
just as he worried
she might outshine him.

He fell into some dreadful thoughts--
saying to himself:
Just look at her--
she thinks she’s so good.
If people could only see
how she growls at me!

And alas
she raged within
with the same harsh thoughts
about him!

Maybe you’ll be surprised to hear
the spirits had actually put those two together.
You see, they know
the best among us can always be better
and sometimes need catalysts
to help them improve.
They know
a mirror can serve this purpose--
someone who reflects your faults.

But even the best
often don’t not want to see
their faults reflected in a mirror
and may protect themselves from clarity
by stirring up
all sorts of commotion.

Fortunately
exhaustion has a way
of helping us accept the truth:

finally they lacked the energy
to argue more
and slumped to floor

and in that moment of stillness
he looked at her
and she looked at him
and both suddenly realized
how alike they were.

At this point
I can reward your patience
with a happy ending--
but perhaps not the happy ending
you expected.

After achieving that insight
the couple soon understood
their life together
had reached its conclusion:
he no longer needed her
and she no longer needed him.

To this day, she praises him
for how he helped her
become a better person
and in the same glowing way
he lauds her.

Nonetheless, I sometimes detect
of hint of competition
when they check each other
from a distance.

Ah, but maybe that’s for the best:

he needs a bit of motivation
when he feels fatigued in his good fight
just as she does when she
tires in hers.

However
neither ever forgets
what they saw
on the brighter side of that mirror--
he saw as she saw
they share the same light.

mythsteps · Fable of the Good Couple

33 1/3 New Fables & Myth
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On the Continent of Love Lost

author’s note:

Someone once asked if I ever wrote love poems...

They’re all love poems!

Happy Thanksgiving.


ON THE CONTINENT OF LOVE LOST

She said
her heart had exiled her writing
to the island of love lost.

But I told her
that island can be a continent.
Here’s the difference:

on the island
when we write of love lost
we write of the garden lost

but on the continent
we realize
we must leave our gardens
in order to grow.

On the island, we write of how
we long for the return
of the one lost

but on the continent
we write of delving down
to find ourselves again.

On the island
we write of wounds still open

but on the continent
we write of mending those wounds
and in the process
healing old deep wounds.

On the island
we're afraid of losing--
of losing again

and on the continent
we're afraid of the same--
afraid of a love
we can not escape
at its beginning--

a love we can not hold
at its end.

But on the continent
we don’t try to escape
when we know we can’t
and don’t try to hold
when we know we can’t.

All this I wrote to her
but then admitted:

I don't always live
the “continent way”

but when I do, I'm able to lay
a wreath of gratitude
on gardens lost
while I celebrate
a present-time blessed
by the education gained
through the losses
of my past.

mythsteps · On the Continent of Love Lost

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The Undercurrent

author’s note:

"Going with the flow" sounds so easy.


THE UNDERCURRENT

When I finally stopped to listen
to what goes on down below the boards...

I began to detect
a powerful undercurrent
moving quietly
beneath my little boat.

Now, after years
of real-life experimentation
I feel I can state with confidence:

though I move the wheel
the current’s the one
actually steering this vessel.
I may plan, but that force decides--
it knows how my spirit needs to grow.
And in service to that purpose
it may take me
to the very places
I was warned not to go.

I was warned: avoid the rocks

I was warned: avoid the mud

I was warned: avoid the depths.

Those old instructions
still have a hold
so when I see where
the current's pulling me
I may start to flail and thrash

hoping to avoid the rapids
hoping to avoid the dead pool
hoping to avoid the deep channel.

Yet at the same time
I’ll fight to stop myself
from fighting the current

not just because I’ve learned
it's useless

and not just because I believe I need
the education that comes from
struggling with gnarly hardship.

No, I’ll confess
to an aim less noble than that:
I wish to realize my ego-dreams
of coolly staring into danger
with a glint in my eye that says
I will not fail this test.

mythsteps · The Undercurrent

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Jump

author’s note:

“Might as well jump”
         -- Van Halen


JUMP

What should you do
if an inner voice tells you
to “jump”?

Fortunately
I knew enough to know
the message was a metaphor.

However
a metaphorical jump
off a metaphorical cliff
can feel as scary as a literal leap.

So though my deep self assured me
this step into the unknown
would bring more life
I rejected the order at first:
I argued in defense
of good common sense--

what if I fell into an abyss?--!

However
from experience I knew
if I didn’t move
I’d probably be pushed
and if I wasn’t, I’d wither.

I also know from experience
I may still doubt the decision
after I see where I’ve landed.
But if so, I’ll just tell myself
that where I am
is where I need to be.

I find strength in that belief--
strength enough
to lift myself up
should my hopes collapse.

mythsteps · Jump

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Forward Back

author’s note:

I often hear, “Follow your intuition!”

To that, I say, “Yes, but the benefits aren’t always so obvious.”


FORWARD BACK

One morning on
a two-lane highway
my car hit a patch of black ice
and suddenly went into a spin

and when the backend
had whipped to a stop
the front end faced the place
I’d just left.
Or perhaps I should say “fled”.
Or maybe the word is: “abandoned”.

But then
in that abrupt moment of stillness
I could no longer ignore
the silent voice.

When what my intuition says
goes against my wishes
I may allow my stubborn will
to steer the wheel

until I go into a spin--
and eventually I’ll go into a spin.

Then I’ll finally surrender
to the secret knowledge
of that silent voice.

Yet even as I obey
I’ll ask “why”--
why I must do what I must?
I’ll ask--though I know
I probably won’t
get a reply.

Years later
I continue to learn why
I needed to return
to the place I had abandoned.

mythsteps · Forward Back

Listening to Silence: poetry book
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Armadillo Mirror

author’s note:

Another mirror.


ARMADILLO MIRROR

I try so hard to see
but seem to make little progress

except when some sight jolts
my eyes open
to another obvious secret.

As on that night
when I stood
gazing at a half-moon
while lamenting
my lack of accomplishment

until a rustling sound
suddenly pulled me out of the clouds--

down on the lawn
I found an armadillo
rummaging through the leaves.

Fascinated
I watched that little armored grubber
trundling along on its bitty legs:
a dwarf clawing for its life
in the medieval dark.

Such resolve!
An irrepressible spirit!
Thriving despite all the hardships--
an accomplishment, to be sure.

As that creature is, so are you--
I whispered this secret to myself
as if channeling a deep soul.

But before my pride
could rise too high
I was struck again
by another realization:

yes, it’s found a way to survive
but eventually, shells limit us--
as any bird chick will tell you.

Can I ever convince myself
I’m strong enough
to live free from this cell?

Will we ever convince ourselves
we’re strong enough?

mythsteps · Armadillo Mirror

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When I Look Into My Eyes

author’s note:

The eyes don’t lie.


WHEN I LOOK INTO MY EYES

Sometimes
when human life seems so base
I will look into my eyes
hoping to witness an inner spirit
shining up from the dark depths.

But at first I’ll usually only see
a reflection of the sadness
that brought me to the mirror.

So then in desperation
I’ll work hard to penetrate
those two black pools

and in that way
go into a meditation
and if I stay long enough
I’ll achieve
the relative stillness
of a relative peace.

Then I can again believe
that I am more than I seem to be.

But here’s the real secret:
occasionally when I’m in that state
I’ll find in the darkness
a purple jewel covered
with countless pure facets--
each one a window revealing
a light embedded in the core.

Though I just get glimpses
I can see
that stone possesses
an untroubled patience
developed over eons.

Maybe you’ll say
I’m only seeing
what I wish to see
but I swear to you:
to see the best of myself
can be as unsettling
as seeing the worst.

What a responsibility!
No wonder we’re afraid
of our own deep beauty.
No wonder we pretend
to be so base.

Listening to Silence: poetry book
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© 2022, Michael R. Patton

Hoping for a Second Childhood

author’s note:

“It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.”
                   -- Tom Robbins


HOPING FOR A SECOND CHILDHOOD

Parental salesmen continue to tell us:
“don’t worry--
  just get in the back seat
  and let me drive”

and we continue to oblige
because as children we were told
to never lose hope
in the magical power of heroes.

When I see all the wrecks
caused by those we believed
would deliver us
I rage on the surface
but down deep I grieve.

The child who believed
we’d build a better world
began to die when I began
to open my eyes
to the world we’d accepted.

But this adult feels the loss of life
so now I’m trying to revive my hope
by opening more--
by expanding my vision

trusting I’ll come to see
the present moment
as part of a process
that can lead to that world
of greater understanding
we imagined as children.

I want so badly
to shed this sadness--
to help reverse our loss.
At the end can I be
a wise child who sees?--
who builds up...who drives?

mythsteps · Hoping for a Second Childhood

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