War

You say war.

I see uniforms folded before they grow old,

boots that return without footsteps.

You track borders lines on a map.

I trace the cracks in a mother’s voice when the call comes.

You speak of victory.

I have learned there is none where someone has to wait forever.

You count the fallen like numbers in a report.

I count the chairs left empty at dinner tables.

You will call it history one day.

I will call it the day I stopped counting.

You say never again.

I have heard you say it before.

You move on.

I am still there........And many like me. .........................................................An Army wife.