Patti Masterman Poems

People always talking, voices never quiet,
Talking over beauty, messing with delight,
Gossiping their lives away, caught up in the lies-
People talking years and years, until they finally die.
...

Sleep with the lights on-
And though curtains may flutter,
The sun won’t peek through.
...

After the war ended, we always remembered
to take careful, measured steps
because sometimes
you would see a wildflower
...

Mother taught me,
as most mothers do
how to react graciously when dealt unhappiness,
since it couldn't be helped
...

Being a broken vessel, how can I ever mend
What has once been put aside as unneedful, forgotten-
A pass chiseled by harsh winds, a bridge crushed by cruel rains;
I have forgotten every forged implement of knowledge.
...

Loves newest grave
Was barely dug,
When I gave him a kiss
And he gave me a hug.
...

For the sake of our beloveds, we fight
Against death, though the fight left within us
Has no real heft, to court the fading light-
We'd rather leave, than face the fuss.
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My heart is filled with Chinese ink,
And shines with interior gloss;
Superior fissioning, for two.
...

How can we have emotions,
When the seas and primal mud did not?
What chemical is the magic potion
That leaves us with the world we got?
...

Souls are born leaders-
But a stranger's come calling,
Trying to open a door;
For sure opening windows.
...