Mark H. Wilson

EMMA SEABERRY

The aircraft is loaded and ready on the tarmac.
Tonight for Delaware he flies;
A world away from this land of sand and heat
To her land of lush greenery and cool nights.
He and others finally aboard:
The aircraft is filled with silence.

During his year away
He thought of her azure eyes.
What would they hold on his return?
Would they be the same?
Would he be too different?
Would they reclaim their past together?

Flags are in place.
Fresh crisp uniforms for the departing.
He and others aboard no longer fear death:
Those left behind still do.
The war still rages.
The brief fighting of months has now turned into years.

Distant tracers briefly fill the heated night.
A sharp rapid climb
And the aircraft is soon away from the horrid smells of frustrating death.
Within a day he will return to Emma Seaberry.
Down through the coastal mist.
To the saddest azure eyes waiting to claim his body!