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author’s note:
A long time ago, I learned to make pain my friend.
— Kid USA, pro wrestler
LIVING WITH GHOSTS
I’ve learned:
I can’t get rid of a ghost by shouting
Leave me alone!
No—
curses and pleading
will not dislodge a ghost.
Nor can I outrun them.
For years, I sped like a bullet train
but when finally forced to stop
my ghosts shot out of the shadows.
Sometimes a ghost may seem
to disappear completely.
But then something I hear or see
will raise that wraith from the grave.
I’ve wrestled with my specters for years
and lost a million times or more.
So now I’m trying a new strategy:
whenever a ghost resurrects
and an old wound wounds me once more
I’ll try to remain calm
and say quite casually:
Well, hello my old companion—
stay if you want—leave when you wish.
No, I’m not finally at peace with you
but I waste so much energy
when I try to fight or flee.
However
I won’t sit
when your sadness
tries to leaden my heart—
No!
I’ll leap and skip in a golden dance.
Though I can’t deny you, I can defy you.
But maybe I should thank you.
Didn’t I learn through you?—
Didn’t I grow?
Yes, and now I’ll learn even more
by staring deep into your eyes
with all their shades of blue.
But though I say in my head:
You should embrace that ghost
my words I haven’t yet convinced my heart.
So until I grow some more
the best I can do is accept you
and dance dance dance—
dance ‘til the night becomes dawn.
What I Learned While Alone: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2025, Michael R. Patton
author’s note:
Maybe every place on earth is haunted, in one way or another.
THE GHOST LADY & ME
The desk clerk says:
people have often seen
the ghost lady
as she ascends this hotel stairway—
her steps heavy with grief.
I believe I know
the reason she doesn’t move on.
I believe, like me
she’s trying to reach a place
of perspective—a place
where we finally feel at peace
with losses that seem so unjust.
Occasionally I’m able
to rise that high.
But then my ego feels threatened
and begins to fight for survival
and in the spin of the ensuing battle
I will eventually trip and tumble
and go bump bump bump bump bump
back down the stairs.
Just as the ghost lady did
the night she died.
As she still does
every evening at this old hotel.
But despite our failure to hold the position
after we land, we always stand
and start the struggle
all over again—
because in those brief moments at the top
our hearts feel
the relief of freedom.
No, I may never be able
stay at that place of peace
on a permanent basis
but each time I climb
I grow a wee bit stronger—
so who knows?
So much joy to be found
in this stubbornness!—
I bet the ghost lady feels it
each night as she tries to rise
to a new life
at this grand antique hotel.
Survival: poetry ebook
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2024, Michael R. Patton
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
author’s note: I want to go to Thailand… ...if only for the ghosts. GHOSTS IN THE TREES I’ve read: in Thailand ghosts live up in the trees-- a better place, I believe than the shadowy basements where we try to stuff our ghosts. Ghosts actually want to sunbathe and talk!-- when ignored they emerge to wreck havoc in our lives, in our world. I speak from experience: in fear, I tried to hide my ghosts from myself. But my wraiths retaliated. Working unseen they kept trying to wreck me. Finally I became more afraid of what they might do if I didn’t let them live in the branches and sun. Now, as I walk in dappled shadows around the tree I listen and learn from ghost stories. I still fear the powerful grief but bolster my strength by repeating what Coach always told the team: no pain, no gain. Over time, many of my shades have faded in sunlight but I know they’ll never disappear completely: my history will always be my history just as our history will always be with us even when stuffed in the basement. If we don’t let those ghosts live up in the trees we’ll still feel their pain while losing the opportunity for a higher education.
myth steps blog
dream steps blog
you tube channel
© 2022, Michael R. Patton
Michael Patton
sky rope (subterranean rappel) 