by Wayne Wysocki

 ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍­ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ "What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world..." -letter to a soldier's wife

The scourge of war has ripped our lives apart,
Indifferent to the joys that we will miss;
From this land and from your love I must depart,
With time enough for just one final kiss.

Determined that this moment never dies,
A picture on my heart I sorely trace
Of your tearful, somehow yet angelic eyes
And your trembling mouth my saddened lips embrace.