Leaving

The drive is long and tenseYou appear to be nappingThe rest of us chatter nervouslyIn intervals, lapse into silence andStart the cycle all over again The whole trip, dread sitsHeavily on my shoulders,Chases thoughts through my mindI would give anything not to have… just natural, I suppose We arrive at the start pointThat will keep you away for atLeast six long months,You and I have one last smoke togetherAnd your dad doesn’t evenGive us a hard time Your brother picks up yourDuffle bag and hoists it up ontoHis shoulders, I have to smileBecause he wants to share yourBurden; he will miss his big bro The long walk to the terminalIs mostly quietWe try to break the tension withSmall talkLittle jokesSome story we heard on the newsAbout a little boy who rode theEscalator up, up, up…on the outsideOf the stairs…. We go with you, for support and becauseWe want to stay as close as possible, whileYou check your bag and I smile at theAttendant as she tells you to keep safe.Was long before that, I could feel theSting of tears trying to escape.  I had noticedYou were fighting it too. You, so brave, soStrong, won and held them in check. As we hug you and tell you to take care,I tell you I love you most and for a momentYou play that game with me. Our hesitationsMelt and we talk till the last minute. You get in line to go through security,We watch as you advance to your turn;Then you are busy,Going through their motionsWith one last caressing look, we slip away                                 ~*** ~ After a 2 week leave from Iraq,My oldest son had to report to the airportfor his continued deployment.I wrote these thoughts from my feelings, events andpoint of view. I can’t imagine what was goingthough his mind. Except he was not reallylooking forward to returning. I think it is more thathe misses home and not that he doesn’t want todo the job. I do know he really enjoyed histime home. We tried to spoil him every waypossible and will miss him immensely, Until hereturns safe and sound to us.


Tonya