“A quarter to three,
and there’s nobody here
except you and me…”
That’s how I thought
the airport would be
in the early morning hours.
Boy, was I wrong!
It took almost an hour
to get through security,
held up by some mother
whose liquid baby formula
had come under scrutiny.
I was only too glad to
finally reach the gates, but then
to be met by countless
servicemen of our armed forces
of these United States,
leaving for their first assignments.
Some I talked to - their assignments
dull and plain, heading to bases
in the Midwest, Iowa or Kansas.
Others wore blank expressions, and some
a hang-dog look; a few seemed in shock.
I could only conjecture what
their assignment could be:
not unlikely the wars overseas,
or the first permanent separation
from their families…
Both life and death ahead, it seemed.
It was mostly the ones with blank expressions,
that seemed to be in shock, that caught my attention.
Numb, perhaps afraid of the future;
wary of the unknown…
I felt a tinge of grief, knowing that some
were going to their deaths, for me.
In a list
A contest entry
- military wives, gf. fiances, families..how do they feel? by camo.egg.army.gurl.
1350 points, ended June 21, 2008, 106 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - in memory of those who served and fell and those who survived by camo.egg.army.gurl.
1800 points, ended June 9, 46 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Reflections in an airport.
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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breathess
again -
A haunting way of viewing our servicemen and women, particularly those who are returning to the fields of battle.
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powerful
when one leaves to serve their country, the other prayes that they come home safely, as we know foreign land is never safe ...thank you for this entry
Linda
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I have alover in the navy and I fear for him as well. Even though he has nondeployable shore duty I still am afraid every day that something will happen or that he will be ordred to go to the ships and end up in the middle of a war. This was a wonderful write Thank you for sharing
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omg...wow...
i cant find any words to express how your poem made me feel...that doesnt happen very often...
i was close to tears..
ive been one of the people at the airport talking to soldiers..ive seen the faces your talking about...
as a veteran ive even been one of those faces...
good luck in my contest
-
awwwwwwwwwww
I remember being in that airport many times headed off for some foreign lands. Once to a war...... Yes the racing thoughts as you head off into uncertainty. My friend this is lovely and well done. God bless you, Mark
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