9/11 Memorial

I stand silent,

a single tear rolls down my face.

My hand touches the bronze plates,

names inscribed.

My mind is silent,

my thoughts drowning as the

waterfalls cascade down.

A storm brewing within,

the tears are flowing.

An ache I buried,

rising to the surface.

The wound oozes,

it bleeds,

the sun is shinning,

the wind on my face,

neither comforts me

nor ease my sorrow.

Stories told by loved ones,

about loss,

of lives gone too soon.

They will be remembered 

their faces, and smiles,

their birthdays

and the moments that 

made up their lives.

I want to search for your name,

but I am told that I'll never find you.

I glance down,

and there you are.

We never met,

but I was told you were

 a gentle soul,

a hero,

a son,

a brother,

an uncle,

a boyfriend

a friend.

You were so many things to

so many people.

Your name inscribed,

among your friends.

I stand silent

drowning in the moment,

closing my eyes and feeling the pain

inside.

Sunday we were at the 9/11 Memorial in N.Y.C. I felt honored to be there and to pay our respects. So may lives lost. So many lives gone too soon. I felt an ache that's hard to express. Here is the link to it .wikipedia.org/wiki/National_September_11_Memorial_. A friend of mine lost her brother in-law that day, he was a firefighter and a hero. http://longisland.newsday.com/911-anniversary/victims/Kevin-Donnelly I was so happy to be able to find his name and share it with my friend. The first few weeks of 9/11 we watched all the reports and stories and we felt devastated. I wrote this poem on my flight home. I was grateful that I could share this with my son Daniel. He was a baby when this happened. Please meet us here, http://dversepoets.com/category/openlinknight/ where we share our thoughts and our hearts.

Dare To Dream

A green notebook 

I bought in the Harvard bookstore.

A notebook filled with words

of triumph and despair,

of highs and lows,

of salvation and redemption.

 I didn't dare to dream,

 to study in a beautiful

university 

with beautiful

minds

 and manicured lawns that

I could rest my weary head on .

I didn't think I was good enough

or brave enough.

I was told that I was beautiful

more often than

I was told that I was smart.

I didn't dare to dream for me

but I did dream it for you

I dreamt the sky was the limit and you

would sparkle in the universe

you would learn

and you would

grow.

My little boy

you held a beating heart in your hand

you saved a life today,

and yesterday .

You shine when you speak

your actions filled with

compassion

even when you are tired and weary

you find the strength to help someone.

You don't seek recognition

or merit

your reward is

 the fulfillment you feel within.

I didn't dare to dream 

for me

but I dared to dream for you.  

This morning I read Author Dani Shapiro's post http://danishapiro.com/on-small-seismic-shifts/ which resonated with me about the things that we dare to dream for ourselves.  The things that we fear and the things that we learn along the way. Her thought process is something that I am familiar with because I was raised with the same thought process myself. Her conversation with her fourteen year old son and her words about having tough feelings, we all had them and we all met someone who experienced them. Those of you that read my poetry know that I am a big believer in learning from our scars and evolving as we grow through this life. I thought about my son Josh and how no dream was too big when I thought of him. (as well as my son Daniel) I knew he had a great heart and a great mind. As a doctor in an  Emergency Room in Boston, I am so proud that his life is about helping people and saving people . I've had an interesting life, with many lessons learned but I never dared to dream for myself what I dream for my children. Meet us here http://dversepoets.com/ where we share our thoughts and our hearts. 

Love Finds The Way

Love finds a way

across a room,

across railroad tracks.

Love finds a way

despite religion or 

conventional lines

and ideas.

Love finds a way through 

darkness,

through obstacles.

Love needs no explanation,

the heart wants,

the soul desires.

I will always find my shelter in your eyes,

I will find solace in your arms,

I will feel the passion rising when

I hear your voice.

Our love is not a fairytale,

it is a love story.

Our love is not a river

but an ocean.

Our love is not a branch,

but a root of an old oak tree.

We weather the storms,

we dance in the rain,

our love always finds the way.

Meet us here http://dversepoets.com/ where we share our thoughts and our hearts.

Not Chasing Yesterday

I am standing still

in the moment.

I'm not chasing my youth,

I left it behind me.

I savor today,

I carry a lantern to light

my way through the walls

of my heart.

I possess a childish enthusiasm,
even though the road was rough
my sense of wonder
may be tainted but
 not diminished or broken.
The light in my eyes
at times filled
with darkness.
 I remember pieces
of my childhood,
laughter and sadness.
A pin an astronaut gave me when I was six,
songs I sang with dad on a worn out tape,
books holding secrets,
poems I wrote as a little girl,
in colorful dog eared notebooks.
Dots on a map of a life
 well lived.
I have savored sweetness,
and swam in melancholy,
I have climbed over
walls that imprisoned me,
I have confronted what was expected
of me
and chose my own path,
my own way.
I chewed those moments
without regret.
I don't want yesterday's
leftovers,
I don't wish to recycle my dreams.
No,
I have grown,
changed,
evolved.
I'm not chasing yesterday,
I am living today.
 



Meet us here http://dversepoets.com where we share our thoughts and our hearts.

Patron Shots With My Brother

Patron shots,

with you ,

brother.

Our road smooth and rough

our journey sweet and sour

when did we get so old ?

It seems like yesterday

we were erecting tents out of sheets

playing cowboys that

we loved to watch in 

the town theatre.

We found refuge from the heat

and delighted in the smell 

of fresh popcorn.

You resented the little

tag along sister

that looked up to you. 

Here we are

we have lived,

we loved,

and we lost our parents

we walked through

grief and pain.

Yesterday is present,

a soundtrack of our life,

a loving home,

with treasured memories.

A life not perfect,

but a life well lived.

Patron shots

to celebrate your birthday

to celebrate our life

magical yesterdays

that will live forever

in our hearts.

 

Meet us here http://dversepoets.com where we share our thoughts and our hearts.

I Know You

Love,

I know you

like the first sentence in a 

poem I walk into.

Love,

I know you like a wave in the ocean

washing over me,

like the wind in my hair,

like mom's baking.

Love

 I know you

like the breath I inhale,

like a song I hum,

like the sand in my feet,

like a dream I had

dreamt last night .

Love,

I know you,

like Sunday ,

like sunrise on vacation,

like the taste of my childhood.

Love,

I know you,

like coming home,

like rolling in the mud,

like banana ice cream,

like lemon,

unmistakable,

distinct,

irreplaceable,

defined.

My love fierce,

my love eternal,

my love yours

completely.

Murky Waters

Confessions of the soul

take place on dark alleyways,

and on sunny open fields

of green.

If I open my heart

would you still love me ?

The past resides within,

it is my companion.

Will you still throw bouquets 

at my feet,

and give me accolades.

 Would you deem me insane

for wanting to die.
Would you deem me insane

for wanting to live

without regrets,

with unbridled abandon

for loving without boundaries,

for fighting a battle I could not win.

I threw myself into murky waters

without knowing how to swim.
I learned lessons while
I was drowning.

Confessions of the soul,

we carry them like fragile threads

that comes undone.

The anchor within releases

we let them fly one by one,

we find ourselves free. 

Meet us here http://dversepoets.com/ where we share our thoughts and our hearts.