Poems by Pat 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.

The horror we endured that day,
The shock, the pain, the fear.
A nightmare unimaginable
To those of us still here.

Dust and ashes, souls swept away,
A city brought down to her knees.
The losses so horrendous,
Visions too monstrous to believe.

The devastating images
In all our hearts remain.
The destruction of humanity
Left us all forever changed.

The faces of those cruelly lost
Are burned inside our minds
And the mournful tears still resonate
Of those loved ones left behind.

The heroes and the victims,
The acts of courage through that hell.
The tales of stunning miracles
That each survivor lived to tell.

Human beings blindly reaching out
To save the strangers in their wake.
Risking all without a thought
Just for someone else's sake.

A ravaged, urban war zone
Now just remnants of mankind.
An incomprehensible catastrophe
That stopped all sense of time.

How could we ever rise again?
Was there a way to make things right?
Did any fight still live inside of us?
Was there any hope in sight?

We fought for our humanity!
We carried on for those we lost!
We kept on moving forward
For those who paid so dear a cost!

Decades have passed and here we stand,
Our flag waves boldly in the breeze.
It's our faith in God and country
That now brings us to our knees!

Names etched in bronze with pride and sorrow
So the world remembers them.
It's the power of their memory
That helped to make us strong again!

The time and distance now between us
Has dimmed my hope we'll meet again.
The family I once treasured
Long ago came to an end.

We fell victim to a family curse
That lay waste the bond we shared.
And no efforts made could salvage it.
It was maimed beyond repair.

For many years I felt bewildered
Searching for the reasons why.
At times I'd rage against my banishment
Or simply hug my knees and cry.

I wondered if you ever thought of me
Or was I nonexistent?
Did you blame yourselves for what became of us?
Or was it I who should be penitent?

If you saw me on a busy street
Would you recognize my face?
Or would I just be another stranger
That you passed along your way?

Time may not always heal all wounds
But it can help in our forgiving
And as for me I find that letting go
Is more conducive to my living.

So for now my anger and resentment
Has been extinguished like a light.
I accept the loss more willingly
With no indignation, ill will or fight.

I no longer let the hurt I feel
Each time I think of you
Make me chase away your memory
The way I use to do.

Instead I let the memories flow
Till I have to catch my breath
As I drown inside a lifetime
I thank God I can't forget.