Poems by Pat Fleming

Our political views mean nothing,
There are no sides to take.
Both young and old must be prepared
To fight for all our sakes.

Guns and tanks are tinker toys;
Violence has no place.
Our enemy creeps silently
Without a single trace.

The world must share this battle;
There are no neutral zones.
We must stand united in our hearts,
Though standing quite alone.

Our basic need for human touch,
For now must be denied.
And we must find inventive ways
To convey what lies inside.

Our heroes aren't our generals,
With medals on their chests.
But those nurses and those doctors,
Who our lives we have bequest.

We wake each day to numbers,
Again there's thousands more.
Neighbors, friends, and family,
Our casualties of war.

We've lost things we took for granted,
That made us feel alive.
And now within our prison walls,
We must find a way to thrive.

But we never will surrender
Or let our lights grow dim.
It's our humanness that will prevail
And set us free again.

Those people who we've never met,
In places far away,
Must face this same relentless foe,
That we too must face each day.

And so we are united,
One people standing strong.
Pushing through this darkest time,
Until again we greet the dawn.

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!

It seems it's been a lifetime
Since my brother went away.
I long to see him once again
And relive those cherished days.

When I was his big sister
And looked at him with pride
And thought we'd always walk through life,
Family side by side.

But in these years he has forgotten me
And left me far behind,
But still a day does not go by
That he doesn't come to mind.

He has a growing daughter now
Whom I know I'll never meet.
She wouldn't even know me
If we passed along the street.

But I have a rather silly hope
That maybe just sometimes
There will be something that he sees in her
That may bring me to his mind.

He may see me in her smile
Or in the twinkle of her eye.
He may hear me in the sadness
Of her broken-hearted cries.

He may find me in her laughter,
In those moments filled with joy.
Or perhaps he'll notice I am there
In the lilting of her voice.

He might see me in her anger
And refusal to give in.
And in how she fights for those she loves,
The way I did for him.

She may even have a walk like me,
That same, familiar stride.
I may be in subtle nuances,
So impossible to hide.

I pray he sees me in her heart
And in the way she wants to care.
We may even look at life the same
And have dreams and hopes we share.

Although she'll never know me,
And I feel that loss each day,
She still carries just a part of me
That no one can take away.

So perhaps in silent moments,
In just an instant he may see,
There within his daughter,
A fleeting glimpse of me.

I'm sitting at the window,
My cheeks are damp and chilled.
I feel melancholic and nostalgic
As I rest my head upon the sill.

The heavy gray and gloomy sky
Sparks that loneliness within.
It provokes those longing memories
Of sweet old times and dear old friends.

Those faces only slightly faded,
Tucked deep away with time.
Come rushing back with fierce abandon
And fill my heart, my soul, and mind.

Those days of budding friendships,
Bonds unconditional and strong,
Sharing firsts that built our futures
In a welcome world where we belong.

Blossoming through our anxious teens
And those golden high school days,
Helping one another
Find ourselves and our own way.

Moments of discovery,
Attachments forged to last forever.
Finding confidantes and cohorts
To share our secrets and endeavors.

Days of learning things together,
Finding our own perfect place.
Ways we find we are so much alike
And those differences we can embrace.

There's a connection that's created
That remains somewhere inside.
A comfort and a comradeship
That won't relinquish over time.

And despite how long the separation
When we finally meet again
We will feel that warm acceptance
That you feel with long lost friends.

Those days of youth are like another world,
And even when they finally part,
Those moments linger like our favorite songs
Whose words we can still sing by heart!

In the damp, dusty cellar, surrounded by boxes,
Our excitement just grows without measure.
Searching and sorting with loud shouts of glee,
As we uncovered the grand Christmas treasure.

Christmas lights in a ball, but Dad's not deterred,
As with a purpose, he heads out the door.
And I spy from the window, for the time has now come,
For Dad to adorn our front porch.

The weather is frigid, his breath floats in the air,
And the sky is the deepest of gray.
The spirit of Christmas can be felt everywhere,
With the promise of snow on the way.

So I watch as my Dad makes his plan of attack,
While I sit comfy, cozy inside.
But I knew in my heart where I needed to be,
Out there shivering, but right by his side.

So I bundle up tight and I head out the door,
Nothing can stand in my way.
And I knew by his smile and his pat on my back
That he truly was glad that I came.

Now perfectionist Dad always knew what to do,
And for him every light had its place.
So together we stood, completing our task,
Precious memories these moments would make.

Under an ominous sky large snowflakes appeared,
And it seemed that the time had just flown.
But we both were determined to finish the job,
Though tired and chilled to the bone.

As the last light was placed, complete darkness prevailed,
We had accomplished our goal just in time.
The smell of Mom's cooking floated by in the air,
And the feeling of success was sublime.

Now into the house, I run with such joy,
To summon all family to come.
And we stand on the street, as Dad plugs in the lights,
Illuminating our world one by one.

For certain it's Christmas and my heart feels so full,
With the beauty of color and shimmer.
But being with Dad sharing time in the cold
Is forever what I will remember!

A single flash of a camera
And a moment frozen in time
Can never truly tell the tale
Of that child left behind.

She's that face in all those pictures.
She's someone I used to know.
She's that timid, loving child
From a million years ago.

She had an open smile
And a twinkle in her eye,
With a sadness and a reticence
She tried her best to hide.

She was an old soul with an innocence,
A fierce and fragile little girl,
Who already looked so out of place
In this predatory world.

The way she hugged her body
Betrayed her uncertainty and fears
And behind that penetrating stare
Was a knowing well beyond her years.

I can look upon her image now
And know the depth of all her pain
And face the heartache that is hidden there
And choose not to look away.

I am privy to her secrets
And the hardships she's survived.
I can feel her sensitivity
And her bewilderment with life.

She lingers here inside of me
And will until the end of time
And all her hurt and sorrow
Is also all of mine.

I will prove to her I love her
And will try to make things right
By protecting and defending her
For the first time in her life.

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!