Weak
and
feeling strong.
Not much
can I do
that could be
wrong.
Let me be
the one I need
the one that’s
me
the one so strong.
No matter
if
sometimes
it seems wrong
so wrong.
~ Patrice
@ Patrice Clarkson – 2026
Weak And Feeling Strong
September 14, 2026
The Man Beside Me
September 11, 2026
In March 2001, my running partner, Grace, and I were headed to Los Angeles for the Honda Marathon.
We boarded our plane in Toronto.
We were sitting in the front row, right in front of the flight attendants’ area. Grace had the window seat. I was in the middle. A man of Middle Eastern descent sat in the aisle seat.
Grace loved to talk and would strike up a conversation with just about anyone.
She started talking to the man beside me.
Nothing unusual.
Just everyday things.
“Beautiful day.”
“Hope our flight will be on time.”
He turned toward us and unleashed such hatred in a language I did not understand.
I remember feeling trapped.
I was sitting beside someone whose anger frightened me, although I had no idea why he was so angry.
Grace became quiet.
She looked out the window for the rest of the trip.
Me too.
He said nothing more.
He simply watched what the flight attendants were doing.
Once we were in the air, he began to drink. How many drinks he had, I have no idea. I was not looking his way.
Somewhere halfway, perhaps three-quarters of the way through the flight, he fell asleep.
ON MY SHOULDER!
He was not snoring, but he was breathing heavily.
I was terrified to move.
I sat there, afraid to disturb him.
Shortly before we landed, a scuffle broke out across the aisle between a man and a lady.
The flight attendant intervened.
It woke him.
We arrived in Los Angeles, got off the plane and went on to the marathon, with all the fun, the struggles and the amazing experiences that came with it.
And I forgot about that horrible, frightening man.
Until September 11, 2001.
Years later, as the investigation into the terrorist attacks unfolded, I learned that some of the men involved in the plot had taken cross-country flights in the months before the attacks as part of their preparations.
And I remembered him.
I remembered sitting beside him for five hours.
I remembered the anger.
I remembered him watching the flight attendants.
I remembered him sleeping on my shoulder.
And I wondered.
Who was that man?
Was he simply an angry stranger having a very bad day?
Or was there something more to him?
I will never know.
I have sometimes wondered if the man sitting beside me that day could have been connected in some way to what was being planned.
I cannot say that he was.
I only know what I experienced.
Five hours sitting beside a man who frightened me.
Five hours I had completely forgotten about until the world changed on September 11, 2001.
Today marks 25 years since that terrible day.
I cannot imagine what the people aboard those four flights experienced.
I cannot imagine what their families experienced when they learned they were gone.
And I cannot imagine the fear and heartbreak of all those who were caught in what happened that morning twenty-five years ago.
My heart, my thoughts, my prayers and my love go out to the victims,
their families, the first responders and all those whose lives were forever changed on September 11, 2001.
~ Patrice
© Patrice Clarkson 2026
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Don’t Tell Me So
September 10, 2026
Don’t tell me so
don’t let me know
what
has happened
going to be.
Let me
find
the answers
on my own
my way.
Don’t destroy
heaven’s trail
heavens
way.
I need
to travel
there
quietly, silently.
Rejoicing
when I see
the light
the way.
Don’t
tell me
don’t let me
know.
I’ll find it.
I’m sure
I know.
~ Patrice
@ Patrice Clarkson – 2026
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The Stakes Are High
September 9, 2026
The stakes are high
the way
curved
follow the one
already
proved.
No one
will blame you
No one will
criticize.
Be patient
it will come
it will be
like
a blessing.
The end
the final outcome.
~ Patrice
@ Patrice Clarkson – 2026
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You Left Me
September 8, 2026
You left me
feeling
not so good
your sarcasm
I never
understood.
Your sharp, cutting lies
made me
feel
I should not be
alive.
Your smile
was
wicked
it made me cry.
I pretended
I too
I
lied.
To see you go
was
a relief
no more anger
accusations
no more
grief.
May you find
happiness
somewhere else
all
by yourself.
And
please
please stay there
so far away
from
me.
~ Patrice
@ Patrice Clarkson -2026
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Somewhere
September 4, 2026
Somewhere out there
You be
Living, loving
Being the best
You can be.
I must find you
I must be
Like you
Loving, caring
Full of beauty, curiosity.
~ Patrice
@Patrice Clarkson – 2023
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Myself
September 3, 2026
You don’t know me
I don’t know
myself.
Thru this journey
maybe I’ll find
that one called
myself.
Hoping so
striving
too.
In the
meantime
I’ll keep travelling
travelling thru to
myself.
~ Patrice
@ Patrice Clarkson – 2026
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My Heart Does Weep
September 2, 2026
My heart does
weep
my eyes too
weep
all the world knows
the way.
The way it goes.
Nothing I can do
nothing
I can say
for it is happening
as
was decreed.
Yesterday.
~ Patrice
@ Patrice Clarkson – 2026
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You Held Me Close
August 31, 2026
You held me
close
you told me
all the lies
I wanted to hear.
I held you close
I didn’t want
this moment to end
to
disappear.
Then
you laughed
I cried
Away you went
To this day
I don’t know
what was true
what was
a lie.
~ Patrice
@ Patrice Clarkson – 2026
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Quietly
August 28, 2026
Quietly
I hold you dearly
Singing songs of love
So clearly
Cherished by those that hear
The melody
Quietly
I say words that hold you close
Words of wisdom for love
For
I love you
Oh so much, the most.
Quietly
I walk away
Never looking back
Never saying
Or
Waving goodbye.
Quietly
I disappear from your life
For
You have learned
All that’s needed.
Quietly.
~ Patrice
@Patrice Clarkson – 2023
