That House

author’s note:

The house in the photo above is that house.  We never thought to take pictures of our own house, I regret to say.


THAT HOUSE

In a recent dream
I returned to my childhood home.

The belly of the whale—
the cacophonous womb
where I danced and wailed.

For years I’ve looked back
so that I might know that house
so that I could move on.

I’ve gone through those rooms so many times.
I’ve shifted through their closets and drawers.
I’ve searched deep, then deeper still.
I’ve catalogued and studied even the smallest finds.
I should be done with that mad house by now, shouldn’t I?

But no, I’m not.  Nor will I ever be.

Because that house keeps changing.
In this recent dream, I opened a new door
and discovered a hallway
that connects the sunny front
with the shadowy back.
That house continues to evolve with each new visit.
That house continues to evolve as I do.
I evolve as I work to change my perspective.

As part of the process
I try to find more sun now
when I look back at that house.
Here’s my idea, my hope:

My present reflects my past.  So
if I can find more sun in my early years
then today will be sunnier too.

The dream tells me:
Our education is never complete.
Always more to be known.
Walk down those dark hallways.
Even a little house is a mansion of doors.

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

My Best Guess

author’s note:

My ideas will evolve, I'm sure.  But I don't think I'll find a better best guess.


MY BEST GUESS

As a child I tied myself up

in order to survive.

Now as a captive adult
I work to undo the tangle

because I realize
for my spirit to survive
I must go against
old survival tactics.

What could be the benefit
of a design that creates
so much inner conflict?
My best guess is based
on what seems most apparent:
we are learning to be strong.

First, by fighting for life
as all other beasts do.
Then by fighting for our soul
within the lines of this human zoo.

mythsteps · My Best Guess

Searching for my best beliefs: poetry book
myth steps blog
dream steps blog
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© 2023, Michael R. Patton

A Cure for Nostalgia

author’s note:

If I hear myself saying, “When I was a child”, I bite my tongue.

It’s nearly pulp now.


A CURE FOR NOSTALGIA

With this growth
I feel I’m losing myself.
Sometimes I become nostalgic
thinking of the one I’ve been.
The new person
coming into being
often feels alien to me--
I’m reminded of movies
where aliens take control
of human bodies.
I do indeed feel a small pod
down inside and rising up--
slowly opening
as the petals peel apart
in the dark.

Recently
I again felt the impulse
to impede its progress
but then I happened to hear
the familiar refrain:

“when I was a child...”

which according to the speaker
was a better time--
a better way of life.

Well, maybe for him
I said to myself
but not for me.

As I then recalled
the beleaguered child I’d been
my sigh blew the dust
of nostalgia away
and again I clearly saw
the beleaguered adult
that child became.

So once again, I told the pod:
hurry up, hurry up.

Dancing to Raven’s Song: a novel
© 2021, Michael R. Patton

In a Flash

author's note:

Maybe I'm under the influence of the wonderful anthology From the Country of Eight Islands, edited/translated by Hiroaki Sato and Burton Watson.

I hope I am.


IN A FLASH

A child's footprint in the sand

washed away in the flash of a wave...


© 2014, Michael R. Patton
MythSteps