War Widows

Off we went, together, to the station,
Promised, we did, to wait and be patient.
Straightened their collar and asked them to write,
Told them we’d miss them, in the long lonely night.
Determined we were not to let our tears show,
As the train pulled away and we had to let go.
But, in our thought’s, we heard ourselves cry,
“I hope this, my dear, is not our last goodbye.”
And, as we walked home, false smiles turned to tears,
Our minds returning to silent fears.
But, life must carry on, we all of us knew,
Even though those coming back might only be few.
So life did carry on, we cooked and we cleaned,
And life was normal or so it seemed.
But, every day our fears were exhumed,
As by every piece of news our minds were consumed.
And every night before we got into bed,
Prayers for a nation were repeatedly said.
How far removed we were from the horrors of war,
For the sights and sounds we neither heard nor saw.
But, there were those who returned before the war had ended.
And in their minds reality was suspended.
We saw horror in these men’s eyes,
And dieing men’s cries we heard in their sighs.
We were grateful to have them back, all the same,
The ones that didn’t come back we all could name.
And for each of those that didn’t come back, a woman sat crying,
They couldn’t see the point in so many men dieing.
The fight for king and country was a thin and brittle cover,
No excuse she said for a woman to lose her lover.
Now she fights a private battle in a lost and lonely land,
For she will never again kiss her husbands face and she will never hold his hand.