We took you to the plane,
Waited at the gate with you
Until the last minute
Because military personnel
Are allowed to bring their families
So they dont have to wait
Alone.
Your innocent brown eyes
Laughed and joked like always.
I tried not to let my heart break
In front of you.
Your future is full enough
Without my tears to carry.
I thought how strange it was,
And maybe even wrong -
I go home to my ordinary life
While you fly thousands of miles
To put yourself in harms way
For a political agenda
I dont even begin to understand.
My reality stops here,
While yours stretches into
A foreign land of duty;
Strangers that will never know
My funny child,
But a soldier brave and true.
I am going to miss
Your innocent brown eyes
And the sound of your silly
Teenage laughing.
Its too soon for you to go.
I want to scream it,
But instead I hug you tight,
Hoping it will hold you
Until you are safe again
Home.
04/10/2007
Author's Note: We took my daughter, Jessica, to the airport yesterday for an international flight to her military destination, her first tour of duty. I still can't reconcile the two, my 18 year old daughter/my soldier child. Jessica is the one with the red coat, sitting next to my daughter Kate, who is NOT going into the military.
Posted on 04/10/2007
Copyright © 2024 Alison McKenzie
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Morgan D Hafele on 04/11/07 at 04:46 AM wow! brave mom! good luck to your daughter and good luck to you. my mom would have killed me if i joined the military, i never would have even made it to a tour of duty. great write! |
| Posted by Matthew Sharp on 04/11/07 at 05:05 AM wow... i couldnt imagine watching my daughter go through the gears of the masterpiece.
im sure you are both strong you and your daughter.
i see it in your writing. |
| Posted by Dave Fitzgerald on 04/11/07 at 05:31 PM Good luck to you both, fitting tribute, well done |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 04/18/07 at 12:50 AM Such young faces, full of ideals. I hope their dreams all come true, and that Jessica is back on safe ground before you know it. |
