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My war

A poem about the Iraq War in 2003 and the support received on iVillage's Families In The Forces message board

He held me in his arms one night
And whispered in my ear
'There's hearts and souls that need me now,
I know you are safe here.

I don't know when I'm leaving
Or where I'm going to -
I'll call you when I get there,
Please remember I love you.'

It didn't seem too real to me
As he held me on that night,
Situations tend to change,
Surely he would not leave me to fight?

But then one day I woke up
And saw something in his eyes,
That told me that day had come
And it was time to say goodbye.

I felt so sick and empty
Not knowing what to do,
The day he left to fight that war
A part of me went too.

Returning to an empty house,
The smell of him still there,
Echoes of our last goodbyes
Still hanging in the air.

Following the news each day,
The war seemed so surreal
Until one day someone told me
'I know just how you feel.'

She told me not to feel alone,
There where others hurting too,
She said, 'Maybe it will help to talk
About what we are all going through.'

And as we talked we smiled,
And as we smiled we shared
So many of our hopes and fears
The reasons we were scared.

Knowing I was not alone
Did not make things alright,
But it helped because friends were there for me
Morning, noon and night.

Out of fear, and sorrow,
Something else began,
The start of bonding friendships
That covered all the land.

I could never have imagined
That so many people cared
That the emotions I was feeling,
So many other people shared.

All of you in many ways
Have shared my lonely nights,
Have shared the pain that I felt
When my loved one went to fight.

You shared all of my emotions
Because you felt them too,
You didn't have to ask me
The fact is you just knew.

The days then turned to weeks and months,
Our loved ones they returned,
The horrors that they witnessed
In their fragile hearts still burned.

Maybe this year was just a stage,
We each had our parts to play,
To be there for each other
As the night turned into day.

So while there's still hearts hurting
And tears to wipe away
We'll be there for each other
Each and every day.
cutecuddlez

Enjoy more poems written by members and join in the lively discussions on the Families In The Forces message board.

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