Soldier: Come Home

It's complex and growing, alive A breathing thing That was suffocated for many years Cut with words Lacerations deep from childhood wounds But growing: through days together, drives for errands Talks of his life, mine occasionally Gentle words and hearing ears and reading between Many Many Lines Acts of service Acts of thoughtfulness Acts of action Mean the most Times with TV--grates my spirit-- crucial to his? And sports. The military. All things machine. Lots of talk of them. and stories The same Some new? Over and over and over My ears straining to hear their importance and why he tells them so frequently What do they really say once the words become the same? What do the words say when repeated for years at the same occasions and with the same Heart. It's his heart! And as we've grown and I've grown And softness known Heart shows through bleeds true beats anew Through those stories memories victories Proudly displayed in the same warrior dominant tone that shows me his outward striving [to be Everything Man] And his inward little boy [still clinging to the b.b. gun in the yard, dressed in camo] craving the attention of anyone around him The affirmation Of just one person To see him and tell him that He doesn't have to fight for them; he just has to be. And that's more than enough. Even soldiers come home after the war. When will you come home, Dad? I miss you.