A few words about Veteran's Day.........

The Letter-

She sat slumped over the kitchen table,

The crumpled letter in her hand.

It was written by her husband,

Serving in a far off foreign land.

He wrote of battles fought and won,

The bravery of his men,

How yesterday they had shot and cooked

Some scrawny desert hen.

Of his dreams and hopes of returning soon

And plans to settle down,

After twenty-six years of Army moves,

Like gypsies, town-to-town.

She looked up and across the table,

At the Major standing there,

All dressed up in his Army greens,

Refusing to take a chair.

She heard the words he shared with her,

Those her mind would not accept.

If she let those words get through as truth,

She would have broken down and wept. No!

She had his letter here in her hand,

He promised to be home soon.

After twenty years of deployed delays

They would have their honeymoon.

The ugly irony of it hit her then,

And her face turned ashen gray,

For today was November Eleventh,

America's "Veteran's Day!"

© Pecozbill 2005