Patti Masterman Poems

Someday I will be beautiful,
A menace to none;
Undisturbing the vacuum
Of the body undone.
...

The nearness of your breath
And the look in your eyes
Will slay me some day.
...

While you can still manage it,
Breathe deeply of delicate life which
Condenses years into memories;
Life, an antique music box, where only the high points
...

I knew there was something different when I first noticed him-
The man was walking tentatively down the hospital corridor,
Declining to use the railing; but beaming as he went along.
He had that look of a child fresh from his birthday party, or a new father,
...

Death has always eaten the same meal
At the same table, in that exclusive restaurant
Before I get there; hungry, misinformed
He has always left with the prize
...

Portraits of the dead
On the shelves and tables
Dead people smiling at me:
Inhabiting lost days and fables.
...

In the holographic world, thoughts can fly
From brain to brain; no reason why
Synchronicity is the rule-
Coincidence? don't be a fool.
...

For here we have no continuing city-
Here the falcons and the herons
Clash overhead, and the dead fall to ground
Like so many feckless soldiers.
...

Do I live in houses, or do they seem to live
Through me? Though I'm never sure, it seems
With their odors wafting all around,
They fill in my chinks, as I polish their mirrors;
...

Save me from hell
And save me from heaven
And keep far away from
People not living:
...