I Say Goodbye Again
By: Michelle H. aka Naila Moon
Copyrighted 2009-All rights reserved
NOTE: This is a repost from a poem I wrote in 2009. It fits this vintage photo I found online in the public commons section.
I said goodbye to you
And kissed you on your cheek
You were off to war
And we couldn't hardly speak.
You told me not to worry
That you would be home soon
And you hoped some great guys
Would be in your platoon.
I got all your letters
And cherished each and every one
Just hoping for the day
That you could see
Your new born son.
Then one rainy morning
On a Sunday afternoon
I received a telegram
That told the story
Of your death too soon.
The purple heart arrived
In testament to your valor
I hold it close to me
And cry at this very hour.
For now, I must kiss you
And say goodbye again,
To my husband, my love,
And my eternal best friend.
And kissed you on your cheek
You were off to war
And we couldn't hardly speak.
You told me not to worry
That you would be home soon
And you hoped some great guys
Would be in your platoon.
I got all your letters
And cherished each and every one
Just hoping for the day
That you could see
Your new born son.
Then one rainy morning
On a Sunday afternoon
I received a telegram
That told the story
Of your death too soon.
The purple heart arrived
In testament to your valor
I hold it close to me
And cry at this very hour.
For now, I must kiss you
And say goodbye again,
To my husband, my love,
And my eternal best friend.
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Notes...
I cannot imagine ever having to receive one of these.
Unfortunately, my grandparents did. It was about my uncle who was serving in the Peace Corp. He did not want to go into the military like his brothers but still wanted to serve his country. I never got to meet him for he died serving just before my parents were married.
Here are some other ones I found.
Wow - I thought such news was delivered in person. I can't imagine how it felt to read such a matter-of-fact message about one's child.
ReplyDeleteSo so very sad. I too cannot begin to imagine the devastation at receiving this kind of news.
ReplyDeleteSuch a tragic subject - the combination of words and images really brings home what this must have meant to families to lose someone like this.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your poem to accompany these telegrams. Tragic losses.
ReplyDeleteThese telegrams were obviously heartbreaking to their recipients, but at least they knew what had happened. In the historic novels I like to read placed back in the early 1000s on up, the men went off to battle and the only way their widows, parents, siblings and etc. knew they had likely lost their lives in those battles was because they didn't come home. That would be a bit harder to deal with, perhaps. The poem was beautiful, though.
ReplyDeleteA very touching poem. My dad's army service was in Korea and Vietnam. My mom dreaded getting the same kind of telegram. It seems impersonal now, but it was a tangible piece of paper, a thing one could preserve. Not like an email or text message.
ReplyDelete