The quiet from the road

I wonder will they bring the quiet back from the road;
The quiet where the trees fingers reach the sky,
Quiet of the graceful geese sweeping by,
Quiet of an airplane shadowed above,
Peace of the fence line's lowly shrub.

The low keening of a coyote's howl,
More silent preening of the wild fowl,
The quiet of water in trembling spring,
But silence above everything else seen-

And I wonder will silence stay close by,
Or slowly wander, a cloud in a sky?

poem by Patti Masterman
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Double Slit Experiment

All things appear to be visible down here
My present, my love, my life-
The embodiment of self in perpetual motion.

But there's a sharp division, between the upward turning eye
The feelings binding meaning with flesh
The shadowed identity of intuitives absolute.

Sense and impression inhabit the same illusion,
All bordered by the tempered limits of logic
Like a watcher, anchored high above the worlds restraints.

But only between words does reality happen.

poem by Patti Masterman
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The ocean births the infants

The ocean births the infants
Just like you or me;
The tide tears free umbilici
And blots them, with seaweed.

The ocean bathes the babies
In rivulets green and blue;
And scrubs them gently too, with sand
Just like we might do.

The ocean rocks the children
To sleep, in stormy seas;
Then whirls them down, to deeper depths-
Where they are never seen.

The ocean buries children
Without one word or tear,
And leaves their hapless bodies
To schools of mermaids there.

poem by Patti Masterman
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Beautiful Darling of My Secret Heart

Beautiful darling of my secret heart;
Secret of secrets, held apart-
Under lock and key, a whole world wrought:
Beautiful darling of my secret heart.

Beautiful darling of another place;
There’s secret longing in your silent face-
Half in hiding, like unfinished thought:
Beautiful darling of another place.

Beautiful giver of beautiful songs;
Songs sung in secret, all night long-
A candle'd altar, quiescent flame:
Beautiful darling- I can’t speak your name.

poem by Patti Masterman
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Without Proximity

Humans think the whole earth
Should subjugate itself beneath their feet;
Even their religions cry out
That they are meant to dominate this world;
Animal life hides at their approach;
Even their smell is unusual,
Camouflaged by many substances
That they put upon the body;
Godlike, they annoint themselves
With the essence of flowers,
And animal secretions which waft into the air
From their body's censors-
And what other animal can kill or maim,
Without proximity?

poem by Patti Masterman
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I Was Always Beaten

I was always already beaten
Before they'd dropped the flag
Blown the whistle
Fired off the starter pistol
Popped the champagne cork
Rang the bell
Flashed the cape at the bull.

I was always already late
When I first poked out
Head, from the womb
Had my first spanking
Had my first wail
Took my first gasp:
They said I couldn't go back.

I was already running behind
For my wedding
For other weddings
For baby showers

[...] Read more

poem by Patti Masterman
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It Seems the English

It seems the English got it all backward:
Short teas, and long narrative poems
Until your teeth fell back into your skull
And the sun dipped deep into the Thames.

Whereas, the Japanese knew all along
The correct way, if only you had asked:
Tea, to be correct, goes on for hours
With a strictly regimented hierarchy of serving

While the poetry is an average three lines apiece
But of such profound observation
As to occupy the entirety of the tea time
And even provide material for ensuing dreams.

poem by Patti Masterman
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A river bears a burden

A river bears a burden
It carries far downstream,
And no man's eyes will see it
Or fathom what it means.

A river bears a burden
Beneath it's swirling toil.
It's rippling edges teasing
The sodden, silent soil.

A river bears a burden
Beneath our nightly dreams,
Our temporal excursions
Along it's watered seams.

A river bears a burden
Of many dreaming feet,
Searching all it's alleys
To a dreamer's slow heartbeat.

[...] Read more

poem by Patti Masterman
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A girl in leather shoes

I am a girl in leather shoes
without socks, a girl who has
no need of socks, a girl
who has few friends-
but doesn't need any.

A strong girl, with real opinions
in her head; sockless in her leather shoes,
a girl whose stride is purposeful,
feet secure inside the leather,
a girl who wears nothing artificial,
who takes in nothing not genuine-

And if she should ever sweat,
this brave, sockless girl,
who knows exactly where she is going
safe in her leather
and her strong opinions-
she would never, never let it show.

poem by Patti Masterman
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Anger and Patience

Any time I don't understand something
Or feel unhappy with the way things are going,
Anger steps up, 'use me; let me help'
And I used to give Anger a lot of free rein,
Till I noticed Anger wasn't all that useful
And generally tended to only make things worse.

Now I try to rely more on 'Patience'
As Patience doesn't keep clicking that counter,
Adding up every resentment of the hour.
Besides, I can look straight into Patience's face
And not have one clue what Patience is thinking of.
You know, Anger could learn something from that.

poem by Patti Masterman
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