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author’s note:
I was trying to come up with something for Valentine’s Day.
TWO NERVOUS PEOPLE COMFORT EACH OTHER
As gray clouds gather
we find ourselves without shelter
in a bare open field.
And so, desperate for comfort
I embrace you and you embrace me.
And as we hold each other I discover
you tremble just as I tremble.
So I try to ease you down
with calming words—
the same words you use
as you try to calm me.
But
my words can’t convince you
and your words can’t convince me
not to worry about our safety.
And so, we continue to tremble.
But at least now
we don’t shake quite as much.
Ironic, I guess:
despite our nervousness
we’re still able to comfort each other a bit.
No, we can’t convince our bodies
not to fear for their survival
as we stand beneath this threatening sky.
But as I hold your body next to mine
I can feel your spirit
just as you can feel my spirit
as you hold my body next to yours.
And so in this moment
we both realize:
even if our bodies fall
you and I, we will survive.
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:
I am not the man in this poem.
But we share one thing in common: we both believe in animism.
FABLE OF THE MAN WHO FOUND THE MYSTERY
As a child he owned
a toy car and a ball of string
and not much else.
So by the time he became an adult
he felt he needed
many many things.
And so he worked hard
and felt pretty pleased
when he got all the stuff he wanted.
And yet
all that stuff didn’t seem to be enough.
He began to wonder
if he should now do
as others have sometimes done
after filling their lives with stuff:
seek enlightenment.
“Should I chuck all that stuff
and go on a spiritual quest?”
he asked a hip woman
with wise lines across her face.
She told him:
sit still and go on a journey within—
go deep within
until you feel the mystery
then rise up and go back out
and feel that same mystery all around you.
That unseen unknown ingredient
pervades everything—
everything—
even the air we breathe.
Our hero then did as told
and soon discovered the ineffable mystery
within and without—
a truth he now experiences
every day
because every day
he goes within
then goes back out
sensing the mystery again.
He now feels he’s found
what was missing before.
And the stuff he’s got
no longer seems so empty:
because he now feels the mystery
in all that stuff. In fact
he feels the mystery
in all the stuff of this world.
And so he now believes
all that stuff has spirit
including the stuff of trees
and mountains and fields and streams—
including the stuff called animals
and among the animals
the stuff called human beings.
Following this belief
the rich guy has now become a rich man.
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:
In memory of Gary Booker, Keith Reid, and B.J. Wilson of Procol Harum.
Blokes, I hope you’re enjoying your new tank. Send a sign if you feel inclined.
MY ALIEN BROTHER
One day at a cathedral-like aquarium
I watched an octopus in a tank
pulse its body up through the dark water
by throwing its tenacles out
then pulling some unseen string
and bringing them back together again.
I saw the force of life in those propulsions.
Where does such energy come from?—
how can a dinner of little fish
possibly be enough to keep that engine going?
As I pondered that question
I again began to feel
the energy that pulsates
through my own physical frame.
Like the octopus
I seem to be plugged in.
But plugged into what?
Can we ever see
behind the curtain of this mystery?
I asked the octopus.
But all the creature wanted was to enjoy
its rhythmic jaunt through the murky water.
Sometimes in an odd hour
I’ll turn my thoughts to that alien brother
and again feel the quiet thrill
of expanding my small mind
by trying to imagine
what secrets might be revealed
if I could ever
pierce through the veil.
Searching for my best beliefs: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2025, Michael R. Patton
author’s note:
Did this event actually happen?
Yes. Maybe times. In different ways.
SIGNS OF HIGHER LIFE
As I wait to cross the blaring street
in the glare of a summer’s day
I feel the urge to elevate above
the dull feeling of the mundane.
So I search for signs of higher life—
maybe someone
in this swarming sweating crowd
shines with the beatific beauty
that comes from within.
But in so many faces I find walls.
The same wall I see in my own face
when I spot my image
on the lens of someone’s sunglasses.
Maybe I built that wall to hide
how I struggle to deal
with all the stuff
this life stuffs into our lives.
Suddenly I feel compassion
for all those people
who like me, struggle behind walls.
Overwhelmed
by that wave of emotion
I lower my head
and prop myself against a lamp post.
In the next moment
someone asks me:
Are you alright?
A show of empathy.
A wall has fallen.
For a moment, at least.
Thanks. Don’t worry—I’m quite alright.
I answer.
Encouraged
by the concern of a stranger
then I walk on.
Though my wall only fell
for a moment
in that moment
I found the beauty
of two human spirits
and got the lift I needed
on a glaring summer’s day.
Survival: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2025, Michael R. Patton
Michael Patton
sky rope (subterranean rappel) 