Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Tomorrow (A Military Spouses Poem)


TOMORROW (a military spouses’ poem)

Tomorrow, we'll be up before dawn
Tomorrow will be the morning that haunts me
Tomorrow I'll go numb
Tomorrow, the color of my world will be grey
Tomorrow, I'll wish you could stay

Tomorrow, I'll lose my crutches
And it will take me a while to learn to walk correctly
Tomorrow, I'll walk on stilts while holding a weight in each hand
Tomorrow, my toes will be pricked with pins
And my finger tips will become needles
Tomorrow, my wingspan will grow
To cover and protect our nest
Tomorrow, I'll try my best

Tomorrow is the opening day
Of The Year of Loneliness
Tomorrow, I must put on a grand show
For the miniature spectators need to believe
It will all be okay, because every play
Should have a happy ending

Tomorrow, I will be impermeable
Tomorrow, I will shun the voices
Of soothers, and the well meaning kind
This pain is mine
One I refuse to share
And have a right to bear

Tomorrow, I'll start drawing X's in squares
And filling boxes with care
And I will wash my pillowcase every day
To wash the tearful mascara marks away
And I'll pray
And pray
And pray

Until tomorrow becomes the day
When I can
Stop counting
Stop crossing out squares
Stop carrying weights
Stop buying Kleenex in bulk sizes
Stop trying to stuff my love in a box

And have my toes and fingers back
And exhale
And you
Come back
To Us
To me.

~M.G.~

1 comments:

Nancy Ruffin said...

This was beautiful. I could not imagine what it must really feel like to have to share your husband/your best friend with the rest of the country and world. It is a huge sacrifice that military wives make but it is because of him and your strength that keep our country safe. Thank you.