VIA AIR MAIL

VIA AIR MAIL

Letters were bound with a scarlet ribbon and saved
in a chest, long forgotten, rediscovered and read again.
My grandmother's face lit up as she read the words
written years ago, that time and distance could not dim.

The year was nineteen forty-four and they were at war,
and the soldiers found little time to write anyone at all.
Their love had to wait as the fierce battle raged on,
as planes flew over and they watched another bomb fall.

With his helmet by his side, he wrote to his bride
on a plain white notepad he kept near his heart;
words of comfort and caring, he wouldn't be sharing
the bad times he'd seen since they had been apart.

A silent tear gently fell as he told her to stay well,
and to be there for him when he got back home.
Then he had quickly signed the letter with a kiss,
feeling much better, not quite so lost and alone.

The envelopes of white with the red and blue stripes
with VIA AIR MAIL stamped boldly on its face,
kept his courage strong, in time they'd be together,
and memories of time lost they could replace..

Letters from home meant so much to him then,
and letters still mean so much to our troops today
so just sit down and write to your loved one tonight,
then seal it with a kiss and send it on its way/

Countrymom
2/9/07