Sex Can Teach Us a Lot about The Universe

author’s note:

Still learning.


SEX CAN TEACH US A LOT ABOUT THE UNIVERSE

A wise woman once told me:
Sex can teach us a lot about life.

Some men prefer
to always be over her.
And so, may find themselves in conflict
with women who declare:
I will guide the action from above.

Maybe they should talk to those
who through patient experiment have found
a mixed match makes
for a more intense experience.

Ah, but the physical
truly becomes transcendent
when I move in awareness
of the drama we express:

We dance as the two
mighty forces of this Universe do.

See their starry children spin
outside the window in the sky
and here, right now, in our bed.

How Can I Live In This World?: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2026, Michael R. Patton

The Deep Thrill of Mystery

author’s note:

To all my fellow specks.


THE DEEP THRILL OF MYSTERY

Sometimes as a child
I’d stop
all my buzzing about

and in the sudden quiet
I would sense mystery.

No matter where I was.
Even standing in a shiny white appliance store
I’d feel the world watching me.

So I’d be a little afraid
but also get a little thrill.
So I liked to stop occasionally.

But these days the world seems
to have turned its eyes away from me.
The world seems quite bored with me.
Even the stuff in my own house.
Even my own house.

However I can still summon
the deep hushed thrill of mystery
by using this trick:

I will force myself to stop
buzzing about

then tell all I see in the world around me:

Yes, I may be just a speck
but so are you—
we’re all just specks on a speck.

We’re all just appliances
and neither you nor I can say for certain
where we came from
or where we'll go
once we’re done here.

Those unanswerable questions
will then spark my mind
and I’ll begin to ask myself:

How could something come from nothing?
And what purpose does all the stuff
of the Universe serve?
Does a purpose even exist?

Of course, all my pondering
will lead nowhere
and when I finally give up
I’ll be left with an empty head.
I’ll just stand there
in the quiet stillness of the moment—
overwhelmed
by the mystery of this universe.
What a buzz.  What a thrill.

How Can I Live In This World?: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2025, Michael R. Patton

Headlight on the Hilltop

author's note:

I’m living in outer space.  But so is everyone else.


HEADLIGHT ON THE HILLTOP

Yeah—
what I saw was probably
just a car headlight
switching from low to bright
up there atop the hill.

Nonetheless
the sight thrilled my heart
and hypnotized my eyes.

So when the light blinked off
a minute or so later
I searched the heavens
hoping it might reappear.

But no—
all I saw was a litter of stars.

But so many—
more than I could possibly take in.

Once again
I realized my little mind
could never ever even begin to comprehend
this grand production
called
“The Universe”.

Once again I thought:
I’m but a wee bit of stardust
in an endless ocean of wonder.

Yeah, probably just a headlight
switching from low to bright.

But a blessed event, nonetheless
because I used that flash
to remind myself:

We’re just a miniscule drop in the cosmos.

But that means:

we’re part of something magnificently mysterious.

And that means:

like all the other pieces
you and I are beautiful secrets.

mythsteps · Headlight on the Hilltop

Myth Steps: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2024, Michael R. Patton

The Fable of the Man Who Opened His Eyes

author’s note:

I know gravity is necessary.  But some days, there’s just too much.


THE FABLE OF THE MAN WHO OPENED HIS EYES

I once felt so jealous of astronauts--
I should be the one
walking on the Moon!

I wanted to hop from planet
to planet
and soar through
the vast mysterious spaces
of the Universe.

Books and TV programs
instead of satisfying
only stoked my desire.

Blake said:
see a world in a grain of sand.
And yes--once or twice
I was able to see as he saw
however
I would’ve preferred
to have found that grain
in a ring of Saturn.

Finally
to ease my frustration
I shut the door to my room
--I shut my eyes--
and sank into a semi-sleep.

But instead of landing softly
on a bottom cushion
I started to discover worlds
in a universe ever expanding:

even the small debris
--the specks of sand--
contained so much information.

So strange it all seemed--
so wonderfully alien
and yet that menagerie
lived within me.

Years later, and I still
haven’t reached the end
of the bit of human universe
granted to me.
Have my inner voyages
diminished the urge
to dance on planets?

Well, I must admit
I still long to visit Saturn

but if asked to pick
I guess I’d still choose
to know my own space.

Common Courage: poetry ebook
© 2021, Michael R. Patton

A Moment...and then back again

author’s note:

Life is just one damn thing after another.
             -- Elbert Hubbard


A MOMENT...AND THEN BACK AGAIN

Once again, someone tries to explain
how a black hole works
and once again
I fail to comprehend.

But in my blinking blankness
I again open to the mystery of this Universe--
outer space suddenly invades
my small island of inner space

and once again, I endure
the grand ache of expansion--
a feeling defying expression.

But my rapture must end
after only a moment:

this life demands I attend
to one small thing after another.

Irritations--so many irritants!
but
if I’m going to be on this earth
I should be on this earth.

© 2020, Michael R. Patton
40 New Fables: ebook