Desert Storm Gulf War

When the bombing began, why did she call?

I would have liked to have slept peacefully til dawn.

Instead, I spent the night with the radio

announcing the war

play-by-play,

alone in a dark bedroom,

alone in a king-sized bed.

***

Yellow ribbons

red, white, and blue streamers,

American flags.

Armed gate guards, barricades,

vehicle searches.

***

Days, weeks, and months pass by

Delayed mail, refused packages

"It's Larger than 45 inches"

What? By a half-inch?

***

New Year's Eve spent with my girlfriend and our kids -

One of us igniting fireworks for the wee ones' delight,

the other spouse inside by the phone, hoping for a call

from one of our husbands from the war zone.

No call.

Everywhere, all day, CNN's Peter Arnett reported,

"Iraqi censors clear these reports."

Yes, we see. Twenty-four-hour war coverage.

We see nothing else but endless reports of

suffering and destruction and

the oil fields on fire.

Demonstrations in the States and Abroad,

- for - and - against

Reservists go AWOL

So we take a trip to the chocolate factory,

My friend and I, with our kids,

to find bunnies, hearts, jelly beans,

Our purchases are lovingly wrapped and mailed to the war zone.

Happy Easter!

***

100-Day War that felt like the One Hundred-Year War

Victory Riders: George Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell

Overshadowed, the real heroes,

Men and women deployed from their friends and family,

General Schwarzkopf, their hero.

***

My husband was deployed to Desert Storm while we lived in Germany. Some wives asked to be sent home to the U.S.

I stayed there, closer to where he was, working, and trying to get messages to him daily. He and my friend’s husband both returned safely; none of our messages were received by them.

I thought it fitting to post this on Veteran’s Day.

Thank you for reading and supporting me. ❤️

💝🎗️

[Republishing for Mikeydred’s November 2025 Dollar Promot because it is about a Veteran and my experience waiting for him published on a Veteran’s Day awhile back. ]

The link is: https://shopping-feedback.today/fyi/november-s-great-rainbow-a-mikeydred-november-dollar-prompt-for-all-vocal-creators%3C/p%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="14azzlx-P">.css-14azzlx-P{font-family:Droid Serif,Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,serif;font-size:1.1875rem;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.01em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.01em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.01em;letter-spacing:0.01em;line-height:1.6;color:#1A1A1A;margin-top:32px;}