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Best Poems Written by Tom Kenney

Below are the all-time best Tom Kenney poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Tom Kenney Poem

Feel Not Sorrow

Feel not sorrow on my behalf
As I slip into the past
For my greatest accomplishment
Is a legacy that will last

I've dedicated the bulk of my life
To the service of my neighbor
But I've been rewarded time and again
For the fruits of my labor

Long ago I decided to become
A member of the "brothers"
Not fully knowing at that time
That they were unlike all others

Firefighters share a brotherhood
Only we can understand
Helping keep death and loss at bay
Though woefully undermanned

I've seen many of my peers step up
Above and beyond the call
Risk their lives for perfect strangers
Their backs against the wall

Even after their acts of heroism
Have been acknowledged by their peers 
Still what remains as their bravest act
Is merely rising above their fears 

For merely signing up to do this job
Takes a special breed
It's the willingness to risk so much
That's their most heroic deed

It's their bravery and dedication
That sets them apart
This is what makes them true heroes
Whether called upon or not

So when I leave this job 'I'll' know
I've done the best I can
I won't need anyone else to know
For they couldn't understand

No one can do this work too long
It takes too much a toll
It's very much a young man's job
It slowly steals your soul

To toil longer in this vocation
Merely tempts fate
For body and spirit is broken down -
Has taken all it can take

So to walk away with no regrets
Is a gift unto itself
I can place my firefighting in the past
Place my tools upon the shelf

I'll always look back on these days
With fondness and affection
I may even long to do it again'
But I must choose a new direction

The same can be said when I die
Feel not sorrow for me
For I've lived a life as full as possible
Being all that I can be

When Saint Peter greets me at the gates
I'm sure he'll let me in
For as a fireman I've proven myself
Time and time again

Details | Tom Kenney Poem

Ten Seconds

Ten seconds is a very long time
When that’s all you have to live
There’s time enough to make your peace
But not time enough to give…

…to give your sweetheart one more hug
To squeeze her oh so tight	
To give your kids the assurance that
Everything will be all right

From the moment I began this job	
I’ve prepared myself for this day
So now as He suddenly calls me home
It seems I already know the way

Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom, kaboom
Like a freight train bearing down
I instantly knew how this would end
That’s when I felt His peace surround…

…surround my body, surround my soul
Surround my brothers in arms
I felt His love, like a giant cloak
Come to shelter us from harm

While answering the call that day
I saw the second plane
It glided through the cloudless sky
Then burst into fire-like rain

It rained down fire, it rained down dust
It rained down bodies, too
It seemed that no matter how we tried	
There was nothing we could do

We knew that people trapped above
The holes that ripped the towers
Could never escape their awful fate
Without the aid of His heavenly powers

I prayed that day, a silent prayer
As I stepped inside the lobby
I knew but for the grace of God
We’d be destined to recovering bodies

Still we began climbing the narrow stairs
While others were heading out
As we passed these scared civilians
Some began to shout…

“God bless you, our brave firemen
You’re heroes to us all”
But we were merely doing our jobs
Just answering the call

We knew when we began this fight
That we all would not survive
But by risking our lives for those of others
We keep the hope alive

The hope that good will conquer all
That God will help us through
Reward us all with eternal life
As our souls begin anew

I saw the face of God that day
As He led me from this place
His will, not ours, will be done
I have to accept this fact with grace

I understood, at once, that day
What firefighters were sent here for
Watch over the masses as best we can
Of no man could you ask more

Ten seconds is a very long time…
Twenty years but a drop in the bucket…

Details | Tom Kenney Poem

Memories Claim Their Due

Lo so woeful a night
To wish the dawn were here
Long cold trek to black
Lay open all my fear

Solitary journey of the past
Through nights put away
Moments best left buried
From the light of a new day

Unwanted as they may be
Memories claim their due
Reliving horrors of yesteryear
Old wounds flow anew

Be it not for the dawn
I’d lie amidst the pain
Succumb to the torment
Storming through my brain

For the dark still holds secrets
The sun refuses to share
Preferring instead to hide
Pretend they’re not there

Yet within these hidden places
We visit only in our repose
Lie that which could break us
Overwhelmed in their throes

Details | Tom Kenney Poem

Harken My Angel

Harken my angel, pray for me
Your love will pull me through
As I lay here under burning debris
After being torn from my crew

I know that when I left this morn’
You were still snug in our bed
But I softly whispered “I love you”
As I kissed you on your head 

We both knew it could come to this
Though we never thought it would
I’d take back all the wasted days
If only there were a way I could

I only wandered a few feet away
From my guys and our hose
I went to check for any more fire
To find it before it grows

Crawling down the hallway
And through a door on the right
I never thought I’d lose my way
I tried to keep them in my sight

All of a sudden the smoke grew thick
Blinding me on the spot
A corner of the floor collapsed
And the room was instantly hot

I turned around to make my way out
But I couldn’t locate the door
Something had fallen, blocking my way
Something not there before

As I tried to make it to the hall
I realized I was lost
I knew instantly the only way out
Was over the threshold I had crossed

Suddenly I was floating downward
Surprisingly peacefully 
An abrupt jolt stopped my fall
Eyes open but unable to see

Total darkness and quiet at first
I’ve experienced this before
But when I realized I couldn’t move
It chilled me to the core

For I was trapped, no way to escape
Unless the others found me
My faith in my brothers, however, ran deep
They would rally around me

As my air ran low and pain set in
I could hear the crackle of the fire
Another sound was filtering through
Fueling my hopes ever higher

I could hear my brothers shouting my name
And though I couldn’t yell back
I knew they were on their way
Refocusing their attack

It was then that I began to drift
From reality to my dreams
That’s when I thought of you, my love
How distant this morn’ seems

Was that the last time I’d kiss your face
Or would there be many more
Lost in this dream my spirit takes flight
And my soul begins to soar

Their shouts are now closer and louder
But I cannot hear
Ever closer they get, a race against time
I no longer feel any fear

Harken my angel, pray for me…

Details | Tom Kenney Poem

Nightmares

I can't forget the time I spent
Putting out the fires
Though I try my best, I never do
No matter my desire

I go to sleep and try to think
Of nothing but my wife
But I lie in bed, and live again
The chaos of my life

My shoulder aches, and I return
To the night upon the ladder
Suddenly it slips, and I grab ahold
Of a lightpost I had straddled

From on the roof, four hands appear
Grab me by the arm
They pull me up and though I feel the pain
They keep me safe from harm

So I roll over and change positions
To try to continue sleeping
But now my knee begins to ache
And I picture myself creeping

As I crawl along a smoky corridor
I fall through a hole in the floor
As I begin to hurtle into the abyss
I’m not in control anymore

But just in time, a brother saves me
By lunging onto my knee
He keeps me from falling into the pit
And drags me up, I'm free
 
Once again I moan, and try to find
A comfortable spot on the bed 
As I finally begin to drift asleep
I see visions in my head

I see a baby with her face chewed off
Another under a truck
A young man crushed in an elevator
Where he had gotten stuck

I picture a family dead on the stairs
Who had tied to get out
A baby pulled lifeless from his room
And I hear his mother shout

I wake up sweating, get out of bed
And pour myself a drink
Take some pills and wash them down
While standing by the sink

After a moment, the shaking subsides
And I'm ready to try again
As I pull the covers over my head
I try to shut down my brain

It works for awhile, but then I feel  
A throbbing in my neck
And once again, I'm back in time
To a night I'd rather forget

Every night, it's always the same
As soon as I go to bed
It seems the pain I feel in my body
Triggers the pain in my head