The Soldier's Wife

She sat at the bus stop next to me

the woman told me she was eighty three

Her gnarled hands clutched a ring

and when she spoke the birds ceased to sing

She told me her tale

the story of love and loss

The story of how sixty years ago

her lover lifted her veil

They kissed, they were in love

and that was always enough

but a short year later,

her lover wanted something greater

He went into the army,

but wrote every day,

but then

everything turned grey.

Her lover was gone for good

he was dead,

the proof

was the bullet in his head.

This frail woman next to me,

her shoulders shake while she cries,

she tells me the she promised him,

if he should ever die,

she would go on with her life.

The tears pool on her lined face,

her eyes clouded with grief,

I'm happy she remembers him,

even though she doesn't remember her daughter,

me.

Author's Note

probably going to make an alternate ending, I didn't plan that one :P Reviews please!

Reviews

[Odayin]

If you make an alternate ending I'll stop reviewing you haha. The ending was great. You had such a consistent flow of dark emotions and then you just finished it off with a completely unexpected ending. It seemed so standard, but with your own personal touch, and that made it even more original. Great poem

[MandaBear]

a great poem. So keep up the hard work!

[Brooklyn]

great poem. I love the emotion and the surprise ending

[Abigail]

Wow... that is all I can say. This poem is just amazing, I personally think that you don't need to change it. Very well done!

[RetroVertigo]

I like that ending, Its a little surprise that you don't really expect. She sounds like a stranger right up until that last line.

[Coyote Poetry]

I like the ending. I know children who lost their father's young. I write story of their father's so one day. They can hold the memories of a father who loved them. Hard to understand a lost never known. No weakness in this excellent poem. Many old timers have this story. WW1 and WW2 took from so many families. Thank you for the outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[emman]

nice :)

[shanara renee]

This is good.....

[Lydia]

A wonderful poem indeed.

[Wild Willow Blue]

I love this so much, especially the ending. The ending makes it, and just takes your breath that much farther away. This is beautiful and sad, painful and enlightening all in one. Wonderful work.