Poems Page 3

MEMORIAL

I see the people passing by

They all seem so very sad

And I wonder what could have happened

To make them feel so bad

They’re all gathered here together

And it’s a very somber mood

So I think I’ll just stand here in the corner

Though I wish I could know what makes them so blue

So many familiar faces

Some I haven’t seen in years

Some are strangers to each other

But they’re united now in tears

Everyone takes a seat now

Some clutching rosaries tight

And I can hear murmured prayers

And I begin to step into the light

All these people, all friends and family

All gathered here as one

But they don’t seem to see me

They don’t know I’ve come

All of their faces

Drawn in grief

As if someone came and stole happiness

And tiptoed away like a thief

And it worries me, how it does

To see them all like this

There must be something I can say

Something to lift their spirits

And I try to speak

Only to find I have no words

No voice, strangely,

Nothing to be heard

I stand up and begin to walk around

No one seems to notice me

But I can hear every sound

Each sob, each whispered memory

Each word of comfort given

And I make my way to the front of the room

And walk amongst the living

And as I approach the shrine they’ve made

My eyes begin to see

All the photographs and mementos

And, somehow, they’re all of me

I close my eyes

And try to make this make sense

But it’s just not meant to be

And then I remember the smoke and the noise

How the ground shook and gave beneath me

And though everything went black

Now, at last, I see

And I linger just a bit

It’s so very hard to leave

I take one last look and bow my head

And leave them to their grief

I feel warmth surround me now

And I think it’s finally time to go

I leave with their love filling my heart

And I’m glad I got to say goodbye

Even if they didn’t know

A CERTAIN PEACE

I was lost in a storm of fire

And I lost many brothers with me

To protect and serve and rescue

It’s all I ever wanted to be

And all this haze around me

Leaves me feeling strangely out of place

I no longer know where I am

I remove the mask from my face

I do not recognize a thing

And I seem to be all alone

A minute ago I was exhausted, tired to the bone

Suddenly that feeling’s gone

And in it’s place a certain peace

As if this inferno no longer existed

From the wall of flames I’ve been released

I finally look around me

And nothing seems quite real

All this chaos and destruction

Turning like a wheel

But I watch as from afar

And the distance only grows

And then I see others like me

Perhaps one of them will know

What has happened, where we are

Rising above the fallen city

Shooting through the stars

We seem to be following a path

Though I know not where it goes

I only know that things have changed

And we can’t return to those below

I fall in step with a brother

Someone who has seen and conquered those flames

And I know somehow we will never again

Hear another roll call and hear them say our names

And I guess this is a better place

It’s so quiet and serene

And there are so very many of us

Lined up as far as I can see

Here we leave behind the pain

Though we leave the ones we love

I can still watch over each one of them

Only now it’s from above

So this must be someone’s heaven

And I know now why we’re here

To be spared an agonizing death

To never again know fear

And we gather now together

In a simple, endless room

Thousands of us all as one

Instead of dying in a tomb

And finally we began to speak

But then there comes a lull

And we look around someone’s heaven

And see the room is full

DO YOU REMEMBER

Do you think of me

Do you remember my face

Do you go through my things

Do you leave me a place

Will there come a time

When memory of me will fade

When I become just a shadow

My life just part of the cost to be paid

Do you remember me

As you go on with your life

Do you think of me

When day turns to night

When the safety of sunlight

Is out of your reach

Do you remember my face

When you listen to them preach

Am I just part of a lesson to be learned

Or am I flesh and blood to you

As real as the day the world burned

When you sit at the table

Do you set a place for me

Or am I becoming just a distant memory

Do you remember my face

Is it still fresh in your mind

Or do you struggle

To keep me or leave me behind

Do you remember my brothers

And the price that we paid

Did they just cover us over

And think us gone, though our souls stayed

Do you think of me

When you sit by an empty seat

Do you long to say farewell

Until again we meet

Do you remember my face

When a smile touches your lips

For though I put smiles there too

We now pass like two ships

Me in this world

And all that it holds

Do you know that I still shiver

Whenever I feel the cold

And I wonder if I was the one left behind

Or if it was me leaving you

I only know I want to remember

And I want you to remember too

Do you think of me

Every once in a while

Not every second of every day

Not every inch of every mile

Just a thought here or there

I just want to be a small part

Of all the things you hold dear

And keep safe in your heart