Today is the Fourth of July and I am thinking about war. In America, it is a holiday. There will be barbeques. There will be parades. There will be fireworks. But I am a military wife, and today is the Fourth of July, and I am thinking about war.
I am thinking about war today,
About how war happens, and
What it does, about the bodies,
Children, their clothes bloody,
Always lined up in rows, faces
Covered with blankets, lined up
On the ground and in the road, or
Piled up in the back of a pickup truck,
With their arms and legs and heads,
Necks, intertwined, like wires,
Crossed, and as if it doesn't matter.
I am thinking about the soldiers,
Who come home, empty, or broken,
Gutted and stuffed like deer heads,
Or don't, who don't come home at all,
Killed by the blast of a bomb that sends
Their bodies flying through the air, and
Onto the ground, still dressed in fatigues,
But out in the open, camouflaged but not,
Their uniforms a pattern of war and blood,
And I am thinking about the widows,
All of the wives whose husbands left,
Went to war, and never came back,
Except in a body bag, on an airplane,
Lowered into the ground, and gone,
Covered with soil, still there, but not,
And I am thinking about the war,
How when my husband left,
When he was gone for fifteen months,
In a place where I could not go,
Could not know what it was like,
This place where soldiers die,
Every day, and my husband,
How I was always waiting,
For him to come home, and
How I wasn't waiting at all.
Copyright Amalie Flynn 1994-Present
Amalie Flynn is an American writer. She publishes her poems on her blog, Wife and War, based on her experience as a military wife whose husband was deployed to war. To read more of Amalie Flynn's story, go to Wife and War http://www.wifeandwar.wordpress.com
and September Eleventh http://www.septembereleventh.wordpress.com/
Follow her on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/amalieflynn
and find her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amalie-Flynn/221024301241286
You can email her at amalieflynn@aol.com
Support HuffPost
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.
Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.
Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your contribution of as little as $2 will go a long way.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.