Defiant Plant Ritual Dance

author’s note:

I also dance just to be silly.


DEFIANT PLANT RITUAL DANCE

Though I doubted the value of prayer
I decided: why not at least try?

So I begged the sky god of fire
to show mercy and end this drought.

But though I didn’t really believe
I still felt hurt
when my petition went unanswered—
I began to curse that fiery eye—
yes, I raged

until I finally exhausted my little flame.

But then in abject defeat I found
the cool relief of humility.

Nonetheless
we still had to live in drought—
so many innocents
had already suffered so much.

Thinking about the unfairness
stirred my ire again
and so my fire stirred again
and slowly rose from the ashes.

I then realized:
yes, that fire was my life
but
such flare ups would devour me
unless I found a way to make peace
with our predicament.

At first I tried logic
but even my best reasoning
failed to satisfy me.

So then in desperation I decided
to try to channel my small fire
into a daring act of celebration.
Yes, I designed my own ritual—

it began with a silly dance:
I flashed my leaves
and sashayed
while thundering my emotion
in a song addressed to the sky god.

Some claim I spouted blasphemy.
But how can a lyric so positive be sinful?
Consider these lines:

“I may be weak
 but I am not powerless:

“No matter what you do
 I will not curse you.
 Nor will I praise.
 I will do my best to remain
 ndifferent.

“My emotions are my own—
 no one else controls them.
 No one else controls my thoughts.
 So though I depend on you
 I remain staunchly independent.”

I stirred myself with those strong verses
then kept stirring by repeating the words—
soon I started to spin
then spun faster
then faster
and faster
as I spiraled toward the night heaven
on a thin wobbly stem steadily elongating

until my top leaves finally reached
and touched
and held
a cloud quite purple and plump.

What a saturation of joy in that moment—
I’ve performed this ritual many times since then

especially when
I feel the urge to curse that god above.

Yeah this drought may kill me
but I will die with a defiant smile.
Why shouldn’t I feel pleased?
I’ve discovered a way to thrive
in a hostile environment—
I have found victory in defeat.

mythsteps · Defiant Plant Ritual Dance

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© 2024, Michael R. Patton

Fortunate Descent

author’s note:

I think all human beings are courageous.  To some degree.


FORTUNATE DESCENT

When the overseers scanned our group
they saw my legs shaking and realized
I needed this trip—this ordeal—
more than any of the others.

Now as they turn the crank
my little basket slowly lowers
into the deep ravine.  Slowly

the rock walls disappear
behind gray cloud
and I begin to hear
a strange bass murmur
echoing up from below.

Down there, I will explore for all
and with luck, return to give a report
on what terrors and delights
one can find in the dark depths.

I am filled with cold dread
as the light continues to dim.
Yet at the same time
my heart thrills in anticipation:

on this trip of discovery
I’ll be forced to find my strength—
maybe afterwards I’ll finally accept
I’m not nearly as weak as I think.

mythsteps · Fortunate Descent

Common Courage: poetry book
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© 2024, Michael R. Patton

What I Tell Myself while Dangling in the Dark

author’s note:

Hang in there.


WHAT I TELL MYSELF WHILE DANGLING IN THE DARK

Moonlight whitens a spider
bobbing up, then down
amid the shadow leaves.

The sight elicits a visceral response—
I identify with that daredevil:
we’re both dangling in the dark—
hanging in mid-air.

However
the metaphor isn’t perfect:
the spider knows his own string well
unlike me—
I don’t know what holds me.
So I worry

then worry about the amount I worry:
doubt could pull me down
into a night without moonlight.

So every day I try to lift myself
with these thoughts:

“I am but a puppet
   moved by higher forces.
   And those gods will not let me fall.
   Because I serve them.

“Yes, they keep me suspended in suspense
   but only because I must learn to trust.

“Yes, it’s good for me to be here:
   this instability forces me
   to find the strength needed
   to deal with our uncertainty.”

To be honest
these ideas don’t ease my anxiety much
and yet
I repeat them often
because
the story they tell
gives this precarious life meaning
and without that significance
I might just say:
I have had enough.
I give up.

mythsteps · What I Tell Myself while Dangling in the Dark

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© 2024, Michael R. Patton

A Hungry Man

author’s note:

I’ve always been hungry.


A HUNGRY MAN

Having failed to find a way
to distinguish himself
through normal group activity
our hero decided on a project
where success depended solely
on his own effort and resolve:

he would prove the strength of his endurance
by starving himself.
Not so much as a mere morsel would pass his lips
for as long as he could resist
the temptation.

So after leaving a note
that fellow lay himself down
in a dark cell below
and welcomed the pain
of claws tearing at his stomach walls—

an agony he withstood
until his digestive system finally
stopped sending messages
and grew cobwebs down the tract.

For days
our wasted hero lay curled on the floor—
pleased with how he’d repeatedly said “no”
to that stubborn demand.
Nonetheless
after all the failure in his past
he felt he needed to prove more.
But what more could he prove?
Well, he could open the scariest door of all:
Death.

Fortunately, at this point
a team of experts
saved him by saying:
if we allow you to go on
we’ll be somewhat responsible
for a loss that helps no one.
So here—come on
have some chicken soup.

Just the excuse he needed:
our skeletal hero could now stop
and feel proud of his willingness
to sacrifice all for achievement.

But he didn’t boast of his triumph—
hunger had taught him humility.
Besides, he’d already silenced
his biggest critic:
himself.
Now he could accept
being an average human being.

But maybe he wasn’t so average now.

During the darkest part of the ordeal
his gray eyes had shown
with a deep silvery glow.
No, that light didn’t last
however
associates now sense
a strange power emanating from him—
even as he ambles
in those scuffed brown shoes.

Nonetheless
none of those who marvel
at the change in him
have chosen to starve themselves
as he did.

Perhaps they understand:

Daily mundane life provides
every hungry human being
with plenty of opportunity
to lift
to lift
to lift
themselves up.

mythsteps · A Hungry Man

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