For those who've given everything
May 14, 2009 by Joyce Hodges
Filed under Current Events, Featured Article
Editor’s note: As we approach the Memorial Day weekend, we should take a moment to remember those men and women who have given their health, their limbs, their sanity and even their lives defending our country and way of life.
At the same time, let us not forget their families, friends, and lovers who were also tragically affected by the loss of these brave souls. Joyce Hodges, JustOneOpinion’s poet laureate, has created a particularly poignant poem that describes a modern example of how war, no matter where or why it is being waged, affects those who wait at home for their loved ones to return.
“Adieu”
A drifting ship without a port,
I tossed about and was windblown
Until he came into my life,
And gave his love to me alone.
He had a gift of nurturing
That shaped the image of my soul.
For many months our friendship grew.
I felt that marriage was our goal.
He was my moon, he lit the night.
The stars seemed brighter in our sky.
I knew I was his confidant,
And he would never say good-bye.
Affection ruled our perfect world.
Seashells sparkled on the beach.
Waves would dance upon the shore.
Passion was within our reach.
But something larger claimed his time.
There was a problem in our plan.
His country called for his support
Deployment to Afghanistan.
My nights were shrouded in a fog
His emails brightened up the day.
Letters told of endless hope.
My vast concerns he would down play.
His dad appeared upon my porch
With just two words that caused me pain.
“He died,” and in a moment’s breath,
I felt that I would go insane.
The words were like a spider web.
Around my heart, they did entwine.
I felt I was thrown overboard
Way out to sea with no lifeline.
His hun’vee hit a roadside bomb.
My future bridegroom was at peace.
Brooding thoughts about my loss
Kept showing up and wouldn’t cease.
Now I’m anxious to embark
As pilot of my destiny,
I’ve learned I can’t out sail some storms.
Life has no written guarantee.
My beacon’s light has gone away.
The pier is dark, my steps unsure.
But placing one foot at a time,
I’ll find the strength to say “Adieu.”
Joyce Hodges
Miss Hodges – thank you for your very nice poem. It relly paints a picture about people who lose loved ones in war. It is so sad that Iraq and Afganistan seem to take so long to get so little done at such a high number of lives lost. My mother once told me that wars end up killing us all at some point. Soldiers and civilians die during the wars by bombs and bullets. But as she said to me what if one of those soldiers that died on the beach at Normandy would have invented the cure for cancer if he had lived? What if one of those germans that got bombed by a B17 would have discovered the answer to cheap solar power? How many of those dead Americans might have written the next great American novel? With millions killed and others who later died from their injuries, don’t you think that fifteen-million casualties one of them would have made at least some major medical or scientific discovery? How many of those future discoverires will be lost to us because we have our soldiers dying in Iraq?
Makes you think doesn’t it.