Poems by Patricia Fleming

The moon reflects the fallen snow
And makes it light as day
I lay awake upon my bed,
As the clock tick tocks away.

A sound pierces the silence,
Perhaps a sleigh upon the roof.
And rushing to the chimney,
The clip clop of reindeer's hooves.

My heart fills with excitement.
Could Santa Claus be there?
I gently tip toe from my room
And down the wreath-lined stairs.

Then almost in a whisper,
I hear a Ho, Ho, Ho!
And spy a hulking shadow
In the trees' prismatic glow.

I peek around the corner,
And sitting in Dad's chair
Is Santa Claus in all his glory,
Munching cookies I prepared.

His cheeks are pudgy, rosy red,
And his eyes are kind and bright.
I feel frozen there right where I stand,
Bewitched by such a sight.

He seems a happy fellow,
As he finishes his snack.
His bulbous belly shakes with glee
As he gathers up his sack.

And then I see beneath the tree,
Toys of every size.
Everything I ever wished for,
Laid out before my eyes.

And there beside the chimney,
As he prepares to take his leave,
Santa gives a hearty Ho, Ho, Ho!
Then winks and waves at me.

Then suddenly he vanishes,
As the chimney shakes with soot.
And all I see at that last moment
Are his black and shiny boots.

I feel so sad and thoughtless
As I watch him cross the sky.
I never even thanked him
Or wished him luck and said good-bye.

Well, next year will be different,
For I'll be waiting there.
And when Santa makes his visit,
I'll show him just how much I care.

I'll knit for him the longest scarf
To keep the cold at bay
And a huge and cozy blanket
To warm his lap inside his sleigh.

And when it's time for him to go,
He'll not use the chimney anymore,
For I will shake my good friend's hand
And blithely walk him to the door.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

Will I slowly wither like a leaf
That falls upon the earth?
Once void of all its Autumn hues,
It loses all its worth.

Will my strength and vigor for this life
Just one day start to wane?
Will all these lines and wrinkles guise
My once familiar face?

Will I feel no longer needed
By my family and my friends?
Will that thrill of feeling deep in love,
In time come to an end?

Will I lose my sense of purpose,
My reason for each day?
Will my mind grow dull and cluttered
Till I somehow lose my way?

Will I outlive all my loved ones
And find myself alone?
Will I lose my independence,
My possessions and my home?

Will all my fondest memories
Escape my aging grasp?
And will I drift so far away
I never make it back?

Will I be that old forgotten soul
That no one comes to see?
Kept in the hands of strangers,
A shell of who I used to be.

I pray I'm spared such cruelty,
For if I am to live.
I don't want to be a burden
When I still have much to give.

I want to treasure every moment,
Every love my heart embraced.
I need to know each pain I felt,
Each tragedy I faced.

So if someday I disappear
Before I leave this life,
I beg you to reach out to me
And hold on with all your might.

For despite how far away I go,
I need the world to care.
For somewhere in that bewilderment,
I still linger there.