I Will Wait For You

In sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow, I will wait for you.

The letter came that fateful day,

To tear you and I apart.
The weeks before you were forced on your way,
Were a blur of a blackened art.

For months I agonised for your return to date,
In sorrow deep enough for fiction.
Until on the dreaded list I read of your fate:
"Missing In Action"

In years that passed, I waited alone,
While no news came of the part of myself.
Hordes of soldiers were flocking back home,
But your file just gathered dust on the shelf.

I knew not if you were dead or alive,
I knew not what to do.
I had closed my heart, praying you would survive,
To love again, seemed taboo.

Time flew by and my hope began to dwindle,
Though I still clutched at your small chance.
But soon all was left was a flickering candle,
Quivering in its uncertain dance.

What was I to think, I was torn,
Should I love again or retain my faith?
Surrender hope or stay lovelorn,
Or choose another to take your place?

My anguish one morn was put to an end, 
When finally, I learned,
That I had to let go, could not pretend,
For I was awaiting one who would never return.

The letter came that fateful day,
To tear you and I apart.
But 'Nam was not where the fighting truly lay,
The real war was within my heart.

Reviews

[Alessander]

This has the feeling of a ballad, and the repitition of the first stanza (more or less) I think puts this in that genre. It tells a story cleanly, without much obfuscation or elaborate rhetoric or dense diction. The rhymes were solid, I wasn't even bothered by "fiction"/"action" like I normally would be lol

I once read that "A tragedy is never based on a character having to choose between a virtue and a vice, but rather between two competing virtues, like love of family, or love of country" and I found the stanza debating between "faith" and "love", or even "reason" and "emotion" the most interesting part of this piece. The theme "all is fair in love and war" also popped to mind...anyhow, nice write.

The only suggestion I can offer is that you fit this into a proper ballad format, but that's up to you, naturally.

[akihsna]

Gosh, the poignancy! Nearly brought me into tears! (maybe it really did but I'm being too shy to confess!) Well well, it's awkward when writers are out of words to express what they feel and this poem is the reason of the actual state in which I've been put. Very pretty~

[Kenneth The Poet]

Heavy write, excellent as usual.

[Kimberly "Melody" Carne..]

This is an amazing write!

[Speak in Silence]

I love this! Its so sad and meaningful, good luck :)

[CHRIS ANDES]

the mystery was not revealed 'til the end
that makes the tone very tragic
its like seeking justice out of nowhere
=]

[Derek Cummings]

Nicely written. I loved the rhyming and the story that went with it.

[noname22]

Caught me at the end, amazing read.

[A poet's heart]

Brilliant poem. I love the story, but my favourite part is the way the poem is turned around on itself, and the first two lines are repeated in the last stanza. Fantastic write, thank you!

[LadyNaida]

Wow!

[Luciole]

beautifully written :)