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author’s note:
Why did I choose the beach?
I wanted to make my hair wavy.
NET OF MEMORIES
Fatigued by certain persistent memories
that afternoon I laid down on the ocean beach
hoping to find some peace.
And as I dozed between two worlds
a wave came up and sloshed my head.
Then receded—
dragging all the bric-a-brac in my brain away—
away into the gently-breathing bay.
Soon another wave
would bring it all back
but for a few moments
my collection of memories spread
through those soothing blue waters—
each one was a living cell
connected to several others
by fibers strong as violin strings.
Taken all together
they formed a complex web.
I realized then:
if my wish was granted
and I could cut away any cells I didn’t want
each extraction would leave
a hole in that net.
Ever since that nap on the beach
I’ve embrace all my memories—
even those that spark powerful pain.
I need the net intact in order to feed this brain.
How Can I Live In This World?: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2026, Michael R. Patton
author’s note:
Is this poem based on an actual dream?
Its truth is based on many many dreams.
OUR DREAM OF FOG AND SUN
At the beginning of the dream
I saw
the golden tip of a rising sun
but suddenly fog swarmed in
and I began to struggle
to find a way through
that messy mass of cloud—
hoping for another shot of brightness.
Twice, the gray fabric thinned
and I glimpsed the brilliant circle
of the sun god through the gauze
but soon—too soon—the clouds crowded in again.
When I awoke
the message seemed obvious:
At birth my clear eyes
could see the sun
but the fog of this world
quickly dimmed my sight.
And though I’ve struggled hard
to defog my head
the haze remains quite thick
except for those blessed moments
when I’m able to part the clouds long enough
to see the sun again.
Those splendid breaks
help keep me strong in the battle.
I now realize:
though I may never achieve
clear victory
as long as I continue to fight
I will never be defeated.
I say:
my dream expresses a predicament
faced by anyone born human.
Maybe we can never regain
what we lost at birth
but if we struggle
to cut through the fog
we’ll occasionally realize our truth.
And the light we find then
will stay with us
all the way to the end.
How Can I Live In This World?: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2025, Michael R. Patton
author’s note:
Use of the word “nowhere” has spiked in recent years.
I wonder what that says about us.
GOING SOMEWHERE
I’m often disturbed
by how we use the word
“Nowhere”.
Just the other day
I overheard someone say:
The road went nowhere—
the dirt tracks disappeared
as soon as we reached the trees.
How very wrong he was:
any road that leads you to a forest
goes somewhere—goes to a forest.
And even if the road had ended
before reaching the tree line
it would still have gone somewhere
because every place on Earth is a place.
A fact I find encouraging
as I approach a new road:
I know
no matter how it ends
my efforts will definitely lead somewhere
and each step along the way
will take me to
a new place—another place
to be explored.
Myth Steps: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2025, Michael R. Patton
author’s note:
Much of what I see tires me.
Fortunately, much of what I see inspires me.
WHEN GODS COME DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN
Sometimes a bored god
will put a human into a hypnotic trance
then enter the body and take control
because they want to feel the adrenaline thrill
we feel when we perform a superhuman feat.
Though confined by the small frame
a deity can still lift those without a boat
above the rising waters.
Or stare down a fierce fire at the edge of town.
Then when the rush subsides
at the end of the event
the immortal will return home
to the clouds on the mountain.
The human will then wake in a daze—
feeling hazy about what they’ve just done.
And when praised
they’ll wonder:
How did I do what I did?
Never guessing
a colossal god could ever fit inside them.
They may assume instead
secret potentials lurk within.
And as a result, decide
they should work to realize
their hidden capabilities.
What they accomplish then
will have the effect
of inspiring other ordinary folk
who say to themselves:
if that damn fool can be super
then so can I!
Myth Steps: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2025, Michael R. Patton
Michael Patton
sky rope (subterranean rappel) 