“But when I do feel all the strength go out of me, and I fall to my knees beside the table and I think I cry, then, or at least I want to, and everything inside me screams for just one more kiss, one more word, one more glance, one more.” ― Veronica Roth

I see you
In both their faces
As they laugh and play,
And celebrate
With exuberance
This gift of life:
Our sons,
Born of our love,
Symbols of
Our future to come,
Who will
One day,
God willing,
Bring us
Children of their own
Who will then
Pass on the love
That began with us.
But,
As you lie there
So peacefully,
I grieve that you
Will not be here
To see our sons
Grow,
Or to see our grandchildren
Born,
For I am told
You will never
Wake up
From an insurgent's
Round
On the day you
Were to come home.
The war for many
May be over,
But for us
It never
Will be.

c. 2022