Poems by Pat Fleming

I believe that love is loyalty.
It will always have your back.
It will bravely stand in front of you
If someone should attack.

Its support will be unwavering.
It will never let you down.
It will be that one true constant
When there's no one else around.

I believe that love is friendship
And a mutual respect,
A bond that can't be broken,
No matter how far it may be stretched.

It will always want the best for you
And will help you if it can,
And when this crazy world confuses you,
Love will help you understand.

Love is not betrayal.
It can look you in the eye
And its word will not be broken;
It won't manipulate or lie.

Love will not degrade you
Or destroy your self-esteem.
It won't be cold or critical
Or belittle all your dreams.

Love will not abandon you,
Despite how difficult things get.
It will create the sweetest memories,
Not a torrent of regrets.

But where there are beginnings,
There will sometimes be an end.
But our hearts are made of sturdy stock,
And so a broken heart can mend.

To love is human nature;
It is a crucial part of life.
It may not always come so easily,
But it will be well worth the fight.

Love comes in every shape and size,
And we can love in different ways.
It will still remain alive in us,
When all else has passed away.

I do my very best each day
Though some days prove worse than others.
I'm everywhere I'm needed,
No need more crucial than another.

I'm there to calm each worry.
I'm drenched by every tear.
I bear the weight of every heartache,
And I'll defend against each fear.

I take the hand of those who have to go
And walk beside them to the Gates,
And sit vigil by the bedsides
Of all those who suffer still in wait.

I wrap my arms around those weary souls
Who lay sleepless through the night.
So laden by their anguished sadness
They've lost their will to live this life.

I whisper words of strength and tenderness
To give them hope again,
And fill their hearts with all my love
To help their souls to mend.

I have so many who depend on me
But I have endless love to share.
I can sit and comfort you alone
And still be everywhere.

But how the Devil works against me
As he wields his monstrous hand.
He sets his sights on all those fragile souls
And preys upon the sinful man.

I feel how angry and betrayed you feel
When the Devil seems to rise,
Convincing you that I don't care
And am no longer by your side.

But I will always take your deepest pain
And carry it for you.
Even times that you give up on me
I won't give up on you!

I know this life can be so wearisome
And the losses can be great.
But I will never leave you on your own
Or your faith in me forsake.

I watch you every second
And I see everything you do,
And what a wondrous sight you are to see,
When seeing from my point of view.

We are in this fight together
And there is nothing we can't do
As long as you stand firmly by my side
And I stand steadfast by you too.

There was a time he loved her.
Now it's clear there's nothing there.
He walks around so flippantly
With no interest or a care.

Through his silence he berates her.
He flaunts the coldness in his eyes.
Neither her tortured sobs nor pleading words
Can make him sympathize.

To him she's just an afterthought,
An object to be used,
A service to be rendered,
A shattered ego to abuse.

He's Dr. Jekyll with the world to see
But Mr. Hyde behind closed doors,
And each time she tries to rise again,
He knocks her back down to the floor.

He has no conscience to control him.
His heart beats for him alone.
She's a peasant to his royalty
As he perches on his throne.

He's a narcissistic bully
Who rubs her wounds with salt.
He degrades, destroys and disregards
Without a guilty thought.

But she fears he'll never let her go
And she knows he'll never change.
Promises are made and broken
But his cruelty still remains.

But time is passing quickly now.
She's in the twilight of her years
And it's her hope and consolation
That her days are numbered here.

But perhaps when she's no longer there
For him to just keep beating down,
He'll see how weak he really is
When there's no one to push around.

The sun set in the early eve.
No light could pierce those mammoth trees.
Dark and dense for miles wide,
You could wander lost forever inside.

Oh, the tales of horror that Forest weaved
Of monsters and ghosts behind each tree.
Werewolves howling at the fullest moon
Those screeches of witches and baleful loons.

We'd hike all day and camp at night
When those campfire stories would fill us with fright.
Tales of terror too grim to conceive
But anything goes on All Hallows' Eve.

We knew we wouldn't get much sleep.
Instead, we'd listen to footsteps creep.
We'd watch the shadows in the firelight,
Staying quiet and safely out of sight.

Blood splatters upon the walls of our tent.
We'd cling and we'd cry, repent and lament.
We'd tell ourselves that it was all make-believe
And that anything goes on All Hallows' Eve.

The night was so black, and the air was so chilled,
The hours passed by as if time had stood still.
Some fetid, foul creature whispered nearby,
And from deep in the woods came a scared baby's cry.

Some would become full of panic and fear,
They'd run into the forest and just disappear!
Filled with such horror, they'd suddenly flee
Forgetting anything goes on All Hallows' Eve.

We would doze off and awake, again and again
Until the harrowing night finally came to an end.
And we'd wait for the welcome light of the day
And see another Halloween just creep away.

Then the sound of the leaves in the soft autumn breeze
And the sun peeking through those fluttering leaves
Filled us with so much relief inside
We couldn't believe we had somehow survived.

But we'll do it again come this time next year,
With no trepidations, hesitation, or fear,
Because nothing was really as sinister as it seemed
It's just that anything goes on All Hallows' Eve.

Here's to that very first friend that I made.
The one who said "yes" when I asked her to play.
Whose name I'd repeat over and over again
So astounded and grateful that she was my friend.

And here's to that friend who grew up by my side,
Who so graciously came along for the ride.
Who was privy to all of my grand hopes and dreams
And complicit in all of my hair-brained schemes.

All hail to that friend ever loyal and true,
Who was just as naïve about what we should do.
We were sisters who faced new adventures each day
Testing the waters on our long wending way.

Praise to that friend who knew all of my pain,
Who kept every secret silent and safe.
The one who would hold me whenever I cried
And then still made me laugh till it ached inside.

Thank God for that friend so much smarter than me,
Who I willingly followed as she took the lead.
Much more adept at learning the ropes,
She was the one who taught me the most.

And God bless that friend who would never condemn
No matter the messes I'd put myself in.
Who accepted my frailties and frustrating flaws
And would still lift me up when I'd flounder and fall.

And thank you forever that dearest of friends
Who showed me what being a friend truly meant.
Who gave me the chance to be one myself
And be someone of value to somebody else.

How I miss that dear friend who drifted away
Whose life took her sadly to some other place.
But I know in my heart even though we lost track
If I called her today, she would still have my back.

Friendship's a gift that we're granted in life
A force to take with us against the tough fight.
But the greatest blessing when it's all said and done
Is to have all those friendships in that One special One!

I feel as if I'm teetering
High above a dark, black hole,
And it's taking everything I have
Not to lose control.

My feet keep slipping off the tightrope.
My arms start flailing in mid-air.
I'm sweating 'neath the scorching sun,
Blinded by its savage glare.

I've been swaying on this tightrope now
For more than half my life.
But it seems to go on into infinity
With no terminus in sight.

One shaky foot in front of the other,
My aging body sore and stiff.
I've considered acquiescence.
Perhaps it's time for me to quit.

I'm so focused on survival
And never looking down
That I've lost sight of all the beauty
That is everywhere around.

The mountains towering over me
With white blankets on their peaks.
The green and sparkling river
Flowing swift and aimlessly.

The flawless azure cloudless sky.
Those dark moments when she weeps.
Her stars that shine so bright at night
To safely guide my weary feet.

Eagles soaring to their nests.
The distant valleys deep and green.
All of nature's busy creatures
Who roam this earth so free.

Those people who keep watch for me
To catch me if I lose my balance.
Who have staggered on their own tightropes
So are well acquainted with the challenge.

They keep vigil from a distance
And have done their best to understand
That I need to make this trek alone
To become everything I am.

The days and nights are passing now.
My body's weak, but my will is strong.
I stop and rest more frequently,
But I recover and move on.

I've been meandering this tightrope now
For more than half my life,
Surviving good and bad days too,
But never giving up the fight.

And those who really love me
Who have never lost their faith,
Have helped convince me through it all
This was a journey I could make.

So to all of you who are like me,
Walking that fine and tottering line,
Just put one foot before the other,
And you'll master it in time.

There is nothing that can quite compare
To the fragrance of the fresh spring air,
Floating on the softest breeze,
Stirring the world from its frozen sleep.

The merry, twittering early birds
Now usher in the dawn,
Filling the quiescent silence
With a panoply of song.

The sun's an early riser.
Her brilliance cannot be ignored.
She demands complete attention
From the still, lethargic world.

The naked, drooping sullen trees
And the brown and barren earth
Begin to show those subtle signs
Of their glorious rebirth.

The greenest green of grassy lawns
Begin to sprout and grow,
Creating deep plush emerald quilts,
Replacing mounds of crystalline snow.

Neatly tended flower beds
Filled with splashy, bursting buds
Lift their heads as they proudly swoon
Beneath the dazzling sun.

The deeply limpid azure sky
Can fill with clouds of gray,
And the smiling sun may suddenly cry,
Revealing the moods of a lush spring day.

Skeletal trees once standing exposed,
Now bedecked in verdant leaves,
Dance proudly and unabashedly
In the hushed and warm spring breeze.

The deadly winter quiet
And that sense of desolation
Is now broken by the sounds of life
And the world's excited jubilation.

Spring has sprung and hope renewed
As people open up their doors.
Those gloomy days and that frigid air
Won't stop them anymore.

Every season has its beauty.
Nature's glory cannot be denied.
But strolling through a blossoming park
Is much better than slumbering inside.

When I stand small before the ocean
In her vast infinity,
I'm consumed by all her beauty
And my profound humility.

When I succumb to her enticement
And the beckoning of her waves,
I become her eager servant
And her shameless, willing slave.

The chill in her mighty, salty touch,
My mere self in her boundless embrace,
Sharing the rhythm of her shifting surf
Everything else in the world is erased.

When she slowly grows more placid
And I float limp within her peace,
I see only the blue sky up above
I hear only the sounds of the sea.

But alas she's a moody enchantress
Turning fierce when the harsh wind blows.
She'll come thundering forth without mercy
To warn me it's past time to go.

As I sit on the toasty, sparkling sand
And I watch her play tag with the shore,
People stand by her quite mesmerized,
She's a marvel that can't be ignored.

There are moments I call her my loyal chum
And I trust her implicitly.
But then she may wield all her force my way
And I realize I'm out of her league.

When the summer is drawing nigh to a close
And my visits more precious and brief,
When the chill of the winter is all there is
I'll find warmth in her sweet memory.

I will think of her beauty in the early morn
When the sun starts to light up the sky
And she shimmers upon her in sheer delight
Like bright diamonds before my eyes.

I'll imagine the boats in the distance,
The wind pushing their bright, graceful sails
The aroma of the sea and her salty bite
As I lift up my chest and inhale.

I will think of her often as time passes by
So unfettered, dynamic, and free
I'll imagine the joy when I see her again
And hope she'll be glad to see me.

Lately when I wake each day,
The sunlight hurts my eyes,
And when I think of yesterday,
I want to just curl up and cry.

It seems that life is getting harder,
My sense of loneliness extreme,
My sadness more disabling,
And the abuse now more routine.

I've discovered a reality
That has consumed my very life,
Which is sometimes even breathing
Can become a constant fight.

There are moments so exhausting
From the internal, chronic pain,
That death itself seems like a blessing
Because living life's become my bane.

I thought that age would garner needed peace,
A final freedom for my soul.
But instead, the chaos and the conflict
Have grown worse as I've grown old.

It seems that some of those bad choices
That I made along the way
Remain with me just like my shadow
And will chase me to my grave.

It only takes one other person
To change your life into a hell
And make your home a ceaseless battlefield
Rather than the haven where you dwell.

My compassion and my tolerance
Proved my most pathetic traits.
They were my vices hiding in disguise
That led me to my wretched fate.

I believed in love and people changing.
I overestimated my own skills.
I thought that I could transform anyone
Through my sheer intellect and will.

Now it's far too late for changes now
The Monster's reached his grandest scale
And compared to him in all his glory,
My aged strength and weapons pale.

But I discovered an advantage,
Which I hope to master soon.
Providing that this nightmare
Doesn't render me a hopeless loon.

I now accept my dreary prison,
And I accept there's no escape.
I accept that through this misery
My heart and soul I may forsake.

I have discovered that one's death can come
Even when their heart is beating
And that instead of fighting back sometimes
The wiser move is in retreating.

I will stay silent and invisible.
I won't challenge or debate.
I'll play possum for my enemy
And perhaps I will stay safe.

At last, my fate will rest with God above
And my perdition will be done
Whether the Monster meets his just defeat
Or my own eternal rest will come.

As the morning bell was sounding
We settled in our seats,
And Ms. Williams wrote upon the board
The list of work we would complete.

It felt like any other day
With no apparent change.
The sounds around me so familiar,
Every moment seemed the same.

The whispers of my closest friends,
A class singing down the hall,
Ms. Williams' soft, assuring voice,
And the squeaking of her chalk.

Anticipation of our lunchtime break
And my choice, PB and J,
Then back to work until the final bell
And the end of our school day.

But then in one split second
Our whole world came crashing down,
When the safety we all had shared
Was shattered by a booming sound.

That booming sound continued.
It seemed to come from everywhere.
I could hear some children screaming
And a smoky, egg smell in the air.

Ms. Williams looked so frightened
That my heart began to pound.
I felt myself begin to panic
As we all dropped to the ground.

Beneath our desks we huddled
While we held our best friends tight.
I closed my eyes and held my breath
And cowered there in fright.

I thought about my Mom and Dad
And knew that soon they'd come.
But then he breached our classroom door
And started shooting everyone.

Sally drooped inside my arms!
We were falling one by one!
Blood was splattered everywhere
As he wielded his big gun!

The world was growing darker now
And I shivered from the cold.
I reached for Sally's bloody hand
So I had something I could hold.

We prayed someone would save us
And take this monster far away.
But each moment we grew wearier
Until we knew it was too late.

And then the last bell of the day
Echoed loudly through the halls.
But instead of children's laughter
There was not a single sound at all!