You Never Know What You'll Find

author’s note:

Happy Halloween!


YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU’LL FIND

When a stranger
takes one quick scan
and believes he knows
who I am...

I feel the impulse
to shock him awake
by pulling something up
from my dark depths
--but stop

not only because I fear
how he might react
but because I realize
I might also scare myself.

I’ve delved and dredged
for many years
yet continue to be surprised
by the spirits I discover inside.

Soultime: a novel
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2022, Michael R. Patton

After I Saw My Groundhog Shadow

author's note:

Happy Groundhog Day to all the groundhogs out there.


AFTER I SAW MY GROUNDHOG SHADOW

If gray clouds cover the sky
on Groundhog Day
the groundhog won't see his shadow
and so, feel safe
to remain above ground--
to feed, to frolic

just as I did
in my dim Spring.

On the other hand
if the sun cuts through the clouds
then his shadow will be revealed
and our furry friend
will retreat to his dark den--

afraid, as I once was
of that creature unknown.

But in time, he’ll return
just as I did:

I guess we can't forget
the glory to be found in sunlight--
we want to see--
even if
what we witness frightens us
or pains our eyes.

Maybe...or maybe
we begin to worry--
wondering if

that shadowy something
has followed us back inside
and still lurks--
hidden in the dark.

So we then decide:
hard open light is actually safer
than the shelter of soft darkness.

© 2019, Michael R. Patton
what I learned while alone: poetry ebook

Glad to Share My Incredible Nightmare

author’s note:

I'm reminded of the expression, "He's a nice person--when he's asleep."

Whoever coined that phrase has never seen my dreams.


GLAD TO SHARE MY INCREDIBLE NIGHTMARE

What a night!--
hail rained down
all through my dreams
to stick in my throat and boot
the next morning
as I tried to talk and walk
as if not so discombobulated
by a sleep
that was non-sleep.

I believe
the steam of what boils in my heart
finds release in dreams--
sometimes creating something quite sweet:
an angelic pipe-organ melody

but more often
blasting a cacophony:

last night, those tight little fists of ice
whipped down on flat stone
in rattling waves of roar--!

But I must admit
such storms light me up
with their lightning

even though in the morning
I'm left frazzled
in the burnt-crisp aftershock...

a charge and burn absent the next night
when I'm refreshed and eased
by gentle visions gone in a wisp...

leaving me with no better story
than to repeat what happened
night before last.

© 2018, Michael R. Patton
what I learned while alone: poetry ebook