Poetry Contest Entry

Hope Of A Soldier

~By Jennifer Anne Henderson

The brutal wind was bitter,
The moon shone a lonely pale,
The rare silence deafening
Though I heard voices in the gale.

Shivering silently I waited
For nothing but time, alone,
Minutes passed like years;
Time wasted here has flown.

I mourned for each lost second
That slipped my feeble grasp,
Wondering how my love had spent
Each second that had passed.

Body aching, muscles weary
Few hours of restless sleep won’t cure,
Wounded, torn, depressed, and frightened
Each new day a tiresome chore.

Nights, though they be cold and lonesome,
Welcome beyond comprehension,
Envelop me in warmth and comfort,
Soothe my soul, release my tension.

Softly glows my tiny candle;
By yellow light I strain to read
Letters from my love back home,
Night by night I softly plead.
Nothing anyone could offer
Ignites within my breast desire,
But one request of God I ask
Which in my soul ignites a fire.

May I see my love again?
Once again to see that face
Of which passion etched so deeply
All expressions gently lace.

Letters worn to cloth-like softness,
Read each night by candlelight,
Carried daily in a pocket
Warm my heart till cold moonlight.

The sole force that drives me onward
One dream alone, one hope to spare:
That I will see my love again
Once separated lives to share.

Each day with me that hope I carry
Which helps me live another day:
Wounded, torn, depressed, and frightened,
But fighting, fighting all the way.

Proudly and with honor in war
My country I am serving,
And if my life this battle takes,
None else is as deserving.

But if this hope, my motivation
Leads me home once all is through,
Held in the arms of my true love,
My only words, "Because of you."

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