A Hat Stand for Birds

author’s note:

The religious practice mentioned in the poem does--or at least, did--happen.


A HAT STAND FOR BIRDS

In Bora Bora
kings pay priests to pray for them

because they believe
without those pleas for mercy
they’ll become hat stands after death
and be forced to serve all ghosts--
even those who once lived as lowly peasants.

But I believe good karma must be earned
through sincere action:
unless you learn to serve
others in this life
you'll be made to stand
as a hat stand
in the next.

Not a punishment
but a blessing--
to be deprived
of a chance at education
would be damnation.

I myself have learned much
from all the work I’ve done
holding hats and coats
as well as umbrellas
for countless others--
both high and low.

Under the weight and restraint
of such servitude
I broke open for a moment once
and in my brief high flight
I looked down to see
a hat stand transform into a tree--

hundreds, maybe thousands
of rustling, restless birds
flitted through its branches--
I still hear their cries in my heart.

I’m listening carefully to that cacophony--
hoping I may one day perceive
the glorious design of a symphony.

mythsteps · Hat Stand for Birds

Searching for My Best Beliefs: poetry book
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© 2023, Michael R. Patton

I Once Was Servant to a Cat

author’s note:

As they say in the movies: based on a true story.


I ONCE WAS SERVANT TO A CAT

Yes, I bowed to the whims
of that little god
but

to hear that satisfied purr
gave me such satisfaction--
to find happiness in another’s happiness
is elevated, is it not?

But maybe I also wanted
to express my love
to one who wouldn’t
suddenly start to hiss and claw
without apparent provocation.

In any case
I will not get another cat--
the world outside also needs my love.

But am I strong enough now
to keep my purr
from becoming a hiss
when another paw
suddenly shows its claws?--

without apparent provocation!

mythsteps · I Once Was Servant to a Cat

Common Courage: poetry book
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© 2023, Michael R. Patton

Feeling the Stone

author’s note:

“Turn!  Turn!  Turn!”
        -- Pete Seeger (via Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)


FEELING THE STONE

As a child
when my vexed head began to spin
I was told:

“Don’t worry:
 you’re merely feeling the rotation
 of a giant stone that turns beneath our world.”

I was told:
“Without its strong foundation
 we’d all fall down
 through the dark void of space.”

Desperate for stability
I decided to believe in the stone
but

as an adult I began to doubt
as I witnessed
buildings toppling--crumbling
from mounting forces of stress
as our world speeded up.

To those who still believed
in the power of the stone
I said:
“If that thing truly exists
 it must want to destroy us.”

As I lost my belief
I lost my equilibrium again

and as I felt myself falling
I hunkered down deep
to protect myself from total collapse

but down within I found quiet
and in that stillness, I could feel
a millstone
going round and round.

But though it spun
that big rock provided
a foundation for me
as I built back my strength.
Even so, I told the stone:
“I’d feel a lot more stable
 if you’d just stop turning.”

To that complaint
I swear I heard a silent whisper say:
I’m working to help you all.
Do you really want to remain
so fragile?
Do you really want to stay
so small?

mythsteps · Feeling the Stone

Searching for My Best Beliefs: poetry book
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© 2023, Michael R. Patton

Only a Fool Argues with Stone

author’s note:

I learned the way I often learn: the hard way.


ONLY A FOOL ARGUES WITH STONE

Long ago a clever storyteller saw
the features of a human face
on the gray stone of the bluff
overlooking the bend in the river

then invented the tale
of the wise woman spirit
who sees all who pass as her children
and warns them with an echo:
steer away from the rocky shore.

A legend we love because
both young and old
want to feel protected by Mother.

Many of those who canoe
down the river today
will slow their paddles at the bluff
and ask that stone sage for guidance.

And the ones who truly listen
may discern an answer
buried within
the distorted amplification
booming back across the water.

I’ve known people who refused to accept
what they needed to do
until they heard the woman of stone say:
you know the truth.

But you need not travel to our river
when burdened with a question.
I say:
wise stone spirits can be found
all over this planet

and if we approach with reverence
they will tell us
what we need to know--
even if they don’t echo
we can hear their thoughts
if we quiet our hearts.

I myself have sometimes received
an answer of truth
from a cliffside or a boulder
or even a rock in the sand.

And though I often want
to reject that wisdom
I don’t because I’ve learned:

only a fool
argues with stone.

mythsteps · Only a Fool Argues with Stone

Listening to Silence: poetry book
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© 2023, Michael R. Patton

The New Sisyphus

author’s note:

I believe this new version of the Sisyphus myth to be more accurate than the one from Ancient Greece.


THE NEW SISYPHUS

An inner drive of mysterious origin
goads this goat
to climb a mountain
every blessed day.

Dizzy with these heights
I try to create some stability
by seeing my world clearly--
I try to take it all in

and as I digest
I am well nourished.

So I don’t feel discouraged
in the morning when I wake to find
one more peak to climb.

Yes, I must start at the bottom
but that base rises from the summit
of the mountain I just surmounted.
Thus, I’m making progress.

Howeverv sometimes I feel so tired.
In frustration, I may then announce:
I just might stop right here right now.

Not merely a wish--
I know the gods would allow me.
I do have free will.

But I also know:
if left unfed
this drive would try to satisfy its hunger
by devouring the one
who sat down in defiance
and said
“I have seen enough.”

mythsteps · The New Sisyphus

Glorious Tedious Transformation: poetry book
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© 2023, Michael R. Patton