and i will wait for you as long as i need to…
he walked through this door to be sworn in.
while the others there stood up straight and excited, at attention,
he slouched and studied the floor, legally bound to go through hell
long after he regretted and wished to take back his enlistment.
while others loudly repeated after the sergeant with feeling and certainty, he quietly spit back words he didn’t want to say.
by halfway through his oath, he was fighting back tears.
he said goodbye to his sisters and mother,
holding Lydia while she cried
and assuring his mother he’d make her proud.
and i held onto him.
and i couldn’t let go
until they announced that
all ‘shippers’ had to report to them NOW
for their final briefing
before they left.
he called me on a borrowed cell phone
from the 2 hour bus ride to Fort Leonard Wood.
he told me he read my letter i gave him for the plane ride.
the one i wrote telling him that i was his
and would wait for him
not just through the summer
but while i'm away at school too
and talking about our future plans
about him going to penn state
and getting an apartment with me next fall.
he said he agreed with
and loved every word.
then he had to go.
he was almost there.
and now he’s there.
and going through this.
and i'll be waiting.
my heart is his.
my mind is his.
my body is his.
my soul is his.