Old Song of Youth

author’s note:

Do not resist the rose
lest you burn in its fire.
        -- Gabriela Mistral (trans. L. Hughes)


OLD SONG OF YOUTH

The poets of old were right:
spring does indeed sing
in the zesty blood of youth.

I remember a spring day years ago--
oh how I tried to ignore
that playful song
and focus on my schoolwork.

But then the rhapsody raised its pitch--
crying of sex, yes, but something more than sex.
So I stopped to listen
and began to feel
the bright green of spring
singing in my blood.

But though my spirit begged for expression
I fastened my mind and body down--
down!

Sitting here, decades later
I chide that starved student in my head--
telling him
he should’ve surrendered
and run through the blazing green fields.

But I’m cut short
as a breeze gushes
through the window--
in the rush
I swear I hear that dizzy kid whisper:
I’m still in your heart.

Suddenly
I feel the wild green song
move in my blood again--
no, not as fresh now
but with age comes a richer shade.

Today unlike yesterday
I’ll sing along--
I will go out into the spring field.

No, I can’t gallop as I once did
but the confinement of slower steps
will give me the time needed
to feel and to sing a deeper song.

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

Eroding into Beauty

author’s note:

I’ve returned to this simple poem again and again over the last nine years, trying to get it right.

I think it’s worth the effort.

So then, did I finally get it right?

Not yet.


ERODING INTO BEAUTY

The one who was once
the prosaic innocence
of a green hill
has, over the years, bared herself
to reveal a profile of sacred rock:

a sun‑drenched summit
still slowly eroding
down into the river.

But those deep lines of attrition
appear beautiful because they tell
of a spirit grown wise.

Now, just your presence is a gift:

whenever we look up at you
and see your strength
again we realize the gain
is worth the loss.

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© 2021, Michael R. Patton
finding Beauty: poetry ebook

Despite Appearances

author's note:

The video above is window-dressing.  The real reason for this post is the poem below.


DESPITE APPEARANCES

When I look back
the losses seem to outweigh the wins.

But I must've gained
as I lost
because I would not want
to begin again
if I had to start
as the one I was
when I first began
this adult life.

So, no, I’m not a minus--
I’m a plus.
I have not
wasted this field.
I have grown.

Though I still can’t see
the total equation
I realize the truth of my math
when I sit down in the dark
and deepen into my depths
because then I can sense the strength--
the steady increase.

But I believe
we all grow--
  if not a meter more
  then at least a millimeter--
no one can avoid learning a little.

Maybe we humans will eventually
--collectively--
learn enough through loss
to see how much
our species has actually gained
during its brief play
on the green field of this planet.

© 2020, Michael R. Patton
Poet, Heal Thyself: ebook

Golden Growth

GOLDEN GROWTH

When the Inquisitor appeared
in a dream years ago...

I realized I was trying
to speed my growth
by stretching myself
on a torture rack

so I then began to use gentler tactics

and accepted the tedium
of gradual change.

A wise way, yes--but
by the time I'd finally
washed off enough dross
to shine a bit...

my youth was gone--
its golden possibilities lost:

in a dream, I saw
gold dust fall down
to disappear into the cracks
between worn floorboards.

I woke in grief
and remained in grief

until an old crone
(impatient with my self-pity)
turned my mind by asking:
does anything ever really die?

then opened the door
to a subterranean cache--
a garden flourishing
with spires of golden grain
and yellow orchids
dripping honey from the lip.

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
searching for my best beliefs: poetry ebook