– A Veterans Day tribute

I could not stand
among the white stones at Arlington
when they laid you down.
But I had the years,
and the years were enough.

*

I first came to you as a chaplain,
to a room at the care center in Mountain Home,
after your third stroke.
You rose from that bed
better than anyone expected.

Then, before the house next door
was even on the market,
you told me about it.
Within a few months
we were neighbors.

*

The backyard became our chapel.
Hour after hour
you told me your story:
twice a prisoner of war
in North Korea,
then a long life
in uniform.

When your wife was taken
in a traffic accident,
the stories kept going,
quieter now,
and heavier.

In the end you packed up
and moved to Morehead City
to live beside your daughter.

*

I made one last trip.
We sat on the beach
and watched the Atlantic
for an hour,
saying very little.

It was enough.

We said goodbye
without words,
because our hearts
already knew.

*

Bob,
soldier, prisoner, survivor,
neighbor, friend,
thank you for your service,
and for your friendship.

One day we will embrace again
across a grateful,
gracious ocean.