Our troops are coming home from Iraq
some of them. Some will not come home.
Our troops are coming home from Iraq
hurt, strengthened, weakened, changed.
Our troops are coming home from Iraq
war scenes embazoned behind eyelids.
Our troops are coming home from Iraq
women,men who sacrificed to protect us.
Our troops are coming home from Iraq
No more shock and awe, airport hugs.
Our troops are coming home from Iraq
to bqby kisses,new dangers, strangers.
Our troops are coming home from Iraq
politics aside, too late, too soon, irrelevant.
Our troops are coming home from Iraq
We welcome them, thank them, let them in.
Our troops are coming home from Iraq
Some of them. Some will not come home.
Yes, they are coming home! And we all can be definitely thankful for that, the troops(and their families) most of all!
ReplyDeleteThere is so much truth and sadness in this poem even though you do include some hopeful lines. It seems subdued--but perhaps I am putting my own feelings on your poem. The repeated line seems effective to me.
ReplyDeleteSubdued feels right Peggy.I just want us to do better for these returning vets than we did after Nam. I want us to welcome them whatever our politics. And I do feel a kind of gratitude to soldiers that I didn't feel before having married into a military family and having friends whose families are involved now. One of my dearest friends flies an Air Force flag for his son who is away serving. That is not anything I experienced as a girl and it touches me.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me happy and saddened. I think they that live will forever be changed.
ReplyDelete