Patti Masterman Poems

I die in bits and pieces, starts and stops;
A puzzle never to be completed;
The wrong answer, to no known question.
...

in the dark life of days you bore
the slow born breath was never blind;
yesterdays trust haunts the picture of morning.
if a hallowed perfume decays every secret hour,
...

Eyes in flames
Around me curl
Eyes in flames
The truth unfurl
...

Experiment in human perception:
Change your name to something different
And suddenly it is perceived
That your writing itself has changed;
...

I pierced through the cardboard,
To allow the eclipse of your love
To show through me
Onto flimsy paper.
...

the betrayal of memory
is a poisoned chamber;
a melancholic rack
of shrieking virgins,
...

Berry, berry on the vine
I'll pluck you for my valentine;
Her lips more red than your plump face,
To kiss them would no heart disgrace.
...

The day of your death
You stuck your head into an oven,
After first closing all the doors, windows;
Sealing yourself off, to the cries of your children,
...

Fears, I had
But you put them to rest-
All forgotten,
Clasped tight to your breast.
...

I think I remember how to die:
Hold onto that breath, just a few beats longer,
Relax the palms; let the tensions leave
Now find that string of thought behind
...