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author’s note:
Continuing a continuing theme.
THE WOMAN OF GOLD
My friend, the comic
said he sought a woman of gold
but so far in his search
he’d found only lead.
I then mentioned a woman
he knew and I’d recently met.
But to that idea, he replied:
“What about those big ears
and those big bug eyes
and that big butt
that wobbles from side to side
when she walks up the stairs?”
I scolded him then, saying
“Consider the possibilities:
“Perhaps ears so big are made to detect
the sound of gold hidden in this world of lead.
And when that woman hears that gold
that gold becomes
part of who she is.
“And maybe eyes so big and buggy
are well-designed to see the gold
hidden in this world of lead.
And when that woman sees that gold
that gold becomes
part of who she is.
“And to me, that wobble expresses
the continual interaction
of life’s yin and yang.
That big butt bears witness
To the universal creative energies within her.
“That’s not lead, my friend, that’s gold.”
Startled by my own response
I decided to let that obtuse man
find his way alone
then hurried home to phone
that glorious woman of gold.
finding Beauty: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2025, Michael R. Patton
author’s note: Wishing you a golden new year. GOLDEN BELIEF When I learned about leprechauns as I child I decided: Noah found a pot of gold when his ark reached the rainbow after 40 days and 40 nights of storm. Then whenever I saw a rainbow arc I’d think to myself: if I could somehow find a way over there I’d carry home a kettle filled with coin and begin a sunny new life. Of course, in time, I realized no ’bow ever touched down. No end to be found--no gold. And yet even now if I happen to glimpse just a shred of a prism hanging in the air I’ll again feel that hope and imagine finally arriving at the end of the rainbow where my gold shines like a sun. Of course, as an adult I understand the gold I seek is not a tangible metal but a wisdom earned by finding ways to navigate days and nights of storm. Am I a fool to think I can ever own so much gold? Maybe. But I’ll keep believing because if I ever stop struggling I’ll be deadened by the feeling of defeat.
Dancing to Raven’s Song: a novel novel
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2022, Michael R. Patton
author’s note:
If a quest didn’t present us with one frustration after another…
…would the quest really be worth our time and effort?
MY QUEST FOR GOLD
Years ago
someone said:
look--
can you see the gold
in this piece?
Well, yes--
when I stopped, I could--
though only dimly at first
yet enough to wake in me
the desire to see
the gold of this world
because when I saw, I felt
the gold within me
then saw more clearly
then felt more.
Such pursuits qualify as quests.
But alas
to search for the ideal
creates frustration:
what I was told was gold
often didn’t touch me
and what had once touched me
might later feel like silver
or sometimes even lead
when I returned
hoping for a repeat
of the first feeling.
But then someone said:
if you open your eyes more fully--
focus yourself completely--
you can find gold
in any ordinary thing.
What a joy to realize
the truth of that beautiful sentiment
(even if the vision lasted
for only a few touching moments).
Following that discovery
I could have led
the blissful existence of the aesthete.
But no
I felt driven to respond
to all the gold I found
by trying to create
some gold of my own.
A quest with even more frustration.
My hope is:
maybe occasionally my failures
will come close enough
to the sublime reality
to touch a memory
and in that way, help you locate
some gold you’ve misplaced.
myth steps blog
© 2021, Michael R. Patton
author’s side:
What singer prompted me to write this poem?
Any singer who ever made me say, "Damn, I wish I could do that."
YOUR SONG
When you were a girl
your sweet instrument
poured forth butterflies
and lovely bubbles
but in time
that piccolo became a shovel:
when you sang you became aware
of riches buried below—
up from the depths
came an echo of gold.
With each song
you dug a bit more—
you went a bit deeper
with each held note.
Now, years later
your richer gold seems
just within reach
yet still seems
to escape your grasp.
So you continue to sing
and continue to deepen
and continue bring up feelings
of shocking intensity—
you cut yourself with song
but create resurrection.
Your song cuts me
by waking my buried wounds
but if I then deepen down
to tend to the healing
in my depths, I discover
small pieces of gold.
I thank you for waking us
with your mining song of love.
myth steps blog
© 2021, Michael R. Patton
Michael Patton
sky rope (subterranean rappel) 