Poems by Patricia Lee

Know When 

Walk with a light step,

inhale deeply the calmer air of contemplation.

Before each word breathe and think:

your words will rebound in the minds of others

and come back to you with a thud.

Did I say that?

Did I do that?

Let your movements be slow and relaxed.

Listen to the cry of your child

and answer it with compassion.

You were once as unsure and needing.

Make space for your soul to know the quiet ticking of the earth.

Curl up in the leaves of a forest and 

let your skin listen.

Cultivate green things but not too many,

for silent as they are,

they have a judgement to pass on.

Watch birds dart, hover, peck, scratch,

intent, they also know when to rest.

Seek truth not in flattery like the media's lens lickers

but in something slowly done and beautiful 

only to yourself.

 Dissatisfaction is the world's great motivator,

without it we'd be content to stay in caves

and eat our meat raw.

Study yourself,

for only you know what lies under that anger or sadness,

what ghost of the past has stolen your peace,

 what unthinking habits have hidden your joy.

______________________________________ 1997