Poems by Pat Fleming

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.