Farewell

The scenes lay

The midst of may

Before their worlds dismay

As a soldier

Prepares for leave

His families love

Is unsheathed

Through perilous times

His boy will dream

That one day

He may sit

Upon his broad shoulders

In a free land

And…

Through lonely times

His lovely wife dreams

Of the anniversary

That will come

Upon his return

One she will never forget

However

After days on end

The soldier shall miss

Life’s greater gifts

As his son starts school

He is oceans away

As his wife falls asleep

He is worlds away

His son wakes

Christmas morning

Hoping to see

Him standing by the tree

For his son

And his wife

Only ask

For him

Though worlds apart

They are together in heart

For day and night

They write

Not a day missed

Until they’ve kissed

The arrival of the new year

Brings new tears

As letter did not reach

The address

But in its place

Stands a man

In his dress blues

As she cries on his shoulders

She is given a letter

That reads

“He was a hero”

And that was all she read

For the tears she shed

Left no time

For the rest to be read

Five years old

And already

He is told

To His love

It means She will cry

Not when he forgets their anniversary

But she will cry

For she sits alone

Each year reservations for two

To his boy

It means

That the day he has dreamt

Will never happen

It will mean

That while his friend

Is playing catch in the next yard

He will have dream

Of what

Could have been

To his newborn

It means

She will never know his love

She will never

Be held by his strong arms

And he wont be the man

To give her away

This family

Is the true victim of war

They had to say

Farewell