His uniform rubbed rough against her cheek.
A speck of grit from the train stung her eye.
His arms held her tightly and he took a peek
At the bombers flying over high in the sky.
The station was crowded with so many men,
Some with worried mum’s and dads by their sides
But she only cared when she would see him again.
On his next leave she would become his bride.
The two days had gone by so quickly, alas.
She had waited so long for him to come back.
Then came his letter saying he had a 48 hour pass
From out of the postman’s half empty sack.
She read the letter and her heart missed a beat
And she ran for the bus to get the green 28B.
She reached the station and there sat on the seat
Was her special sailor boy home from the sea.
He scooped her up close and hugged her tight
And the folks passing by smiled and sighed.
To see someone happy was now too rare a sight.
“Did you miss me” he said, “Not much” she lied.
She took him to her home and he met her Dad,
The men went walking down the garden path.
Mum said not to worry, he seemed a likeable lad.
“Getting wed then!” said Dad. “Lets go for a half”.
Why did the time fly by so dreadfully fast?
There they were, back at the station again.
So many couples trying to make the time last,
To keep away that dreaded moment of pain.
She tried so hard not to think of what might be,
Will he be safe? Will he come back quite soon?
He will be sailing tomorrow, back out to sea,
In her head she still hears their favorite tune.
They had held each other and danced slowly round,
Completely lost in a world of their own.
Floating on the music, not even touching the ground,
Wishing they could already have their own home.
If last night’s dance could of lasted forever,
If only each second could of lasted a week.
They wouldn’t need to cling so tightly together,
With his uniform rubbing rough against her cheek.
The guard waved a flag and the whistle he blew.
He had to pull himself away from her arms.
Leaning out of the carriage and in that minute he knew,
He may never again see her sweet loving charms.
He looked into her eyes, so deep and as blue as the sky,
It was like looking into the depths of the sea.
Fear gripped her heart, this was “My Love, Goodbye.”
His last words were “Please, don’t forget about me.”
She stood on the pier looking out at the sea,
Remembering those days from a life time ago.
Thinking about her first love and the 48 hour leave
And watched the waves wash the beach to and fro.
They were so young then and love was so very sweet,
Each second had to be stored deep inside your heart.
You never knew in the war if you would again meet
Or if, sadly, forever you would be apart.
Memories haunted her thoughts as she stood,
A few tears slowly ran down her face.
For those years long ago and she knew she would
Leave a part of her heart back in that place.
“Granny” a little voice said “Will Granddad be long?”
“He promised to take me out in a boat on the sea”
With a smile she nodded and humming their old favorite song
"When my sailor boy came safely home to me".
For my Mum and Dad and all WW2 Royal Navy brides
Author notes
During war time Britian you were lucky to get a pint of beer in pubs after bombing raids. So you went for "a half".
A contest entry
- Love Stories :) by forbidden-colour.
300 points, ended October 27, 2007, 23 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Family Stories by CelticQueen.
1800 points, ended October 26, 2007, 14 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Tell me a Story by TabbyCat.
750 points, ended April 2, 2008, 44 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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This piece really had tears come into my eyes. I love poetry that deals with this subject and yours really hit the spot. Such a wonderful stroy you told here and one which i would dare say was repeated throughout the years as couples held each other in loving embraces. Your words truly took me to that place where they both spent that 48 hours. It took me right into their hearts and showed me true love that for some reason does not seem to exist that much these days. I loved your authors notes which really put a very special feel to this adorable and loving write. I cannot say more than this was truly a very honourable piece indeed. Thanks for sharing this and although an old write, it still stands the test of time. Thank you so much for sharing.
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Condor, Thank you so much for reading this WW2 poem. Not many folk like bothering with long writes and yet I was unable to shrink this without losing the parts I wanted to say. The best thing of all about this poem was that I sent it to an ex Royal Navy man and he read it to his very sick wife. They got married during the war too and they said it could be their own love story as well. She died soon after but she loved the poem. The pleasure I gave those two lovely people at the end of their over 60 years of marriage was worth more than I ever thought possible. My parents were both long gone when I wrote this.
Sheila
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Hi. Just wanted to tell you to never try and shrink what you need to say. I loved it and i will read anything, long or short if it is worth it, and believe me, this definately was. It is really good that you gave that couple something to smile about and cling to in the wifes last days. I'm sure she passed with a smile. Keep up the great work.
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Nice. This story was sweet and sentimental. I loved that it was based on your own family history. Thanks for entering.
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this is so sad and beautiful it made me cry.
my boy is a guards men. and he comes home soon too.
i pray everyday that he wont be deployed to iraq but we both know he will be.
you did an amazing job on this.
♥
SheLovesHerSoldier -
Is the last line a song title? If so maybe italics are in order since there are other quotations throughout. This is very tightly formed and well executed. Thank you for your entry and good luck to you. PC
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Poetically Correct
Thank you for your comments and I see you are right about the song line needing italics but I am afraid to say that I am not sure how to do them. Other than put poems on here I have little knowledge of how to do many other things.
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Oh so sad!
But wonderful.
Thank you for entering.
xx
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Thank you so much for your comment Karen. It is nice to have someone read my thoughts as I have never before been brave enough to put them on show. Pity I can't stay with this site much longer but that is life! Once again thank you for taking the time.
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Wow, this is the most beautiful write I have read in a long time, I could tell it came from the heart of a true story, because this is how true fairytales are made, you have captured the essence of love and loss and then being reunited, in spectacular form here, I applaud you for the rhyme and structure, but truly nothing bad can be said of a write like this from the heart.... just beautiful
Karen
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