I value

That I have You,

My Darling.

On cold nights,

When the covers aren’t enough,

It’s your warmth that saves me.

I look up to the sky

And imagine our flight

amongst the Cumulonimbus

Giants.

The adventure we lead

Is the life that lives

        deep within us.

Your Love keeps me strong.

Your Laugh is the song,

That I play on repeat

                                                              in my mind.

So hold me close now,

Baby,

And let the moon

                          guide our feet

                                                 across the dance floor

of Life.

The wind fills the sails
of an old galleon
in the bay, that is
set on course for the
far away land of
Saracen and Turks,
while the farmer, “Jacques,”
follows the horse and
plow, that is gently
creeping, so as to
not disturb the seed.

The cavern island
is the boy shepherd’s
reverie; his dream
to leave this flock that
he loyally tends,
and explore the world
like Sir Lafayette.

Fading
is the art of the world
as the distance
becomes distance
and the sails
faintly
decay.

Always in danger, his life on the line
Death being ever present in this land
They sent him here to defend his country
Thus is the life of a US soldier

The native peoples in this dying land
despise his presence; his merciless work
Thus is the life of a US soldier

His woman leaves him lying frozen, and
forgotten on an Afghani mountain
Thus is the life of these US soldiers

Bullets unleashed by the Mujahideen
cause American blood to mix with the mud;
the same blood that covers the young medic’s hands
Thus is the life of a US soldier

The mortar lands only a few feet away
and the boy becomes apart from his legs
Thus is the life of a US soldier

While the sergeant is screaming
               Return Fire!
A private cries out for his distant mother
Thus is the life of a US soldier

Eventually their tour comes to an end, and
they board the plane that is pointed towards home
yet fifteen seats are empty; no soldiers
               will use these seats to return home this day.
Thus is the life of a US soldier

Having done their job, they can rest for now;
rest until they are sent back to the land
they have so rightly named “the nation of death”
Thus is the life of a US soldier

The plane soon lands; the men will stand, anxious
to lay eyes on their forgotten homeland
Thus is the life of a US soldier

He will exit the plane and she is waiting
but she won’t be able to recognize him
because the scars on his face disguise him;
his sunken eyes betray his identity
Thus is the life of a US soldier

Another warrior weeps as he hugs his wife
and she hands his daughter into his arms;
he holds his infant for the very first time
Thus is the life of a US soldier

Twelve months later the men will board that plane again
and leave the land they have sworn to defend
Thus is the life of a U.S. Army Soldier.