The Red River

I remember the day so clearly, a heavy mist seeping into the morn,

It's impact I felt intensely, it’s uncertainty, irrevocable forlorn.

I recall walking, breathing in wild flowers, that I had picked moments before,

I remember staring out the kitchen window, not a single thought of war.

The children were outside playing, all I could hear was laughter and fun,

It was in that very moment, my whole world came undone.

The plate I was drying fell to floor, shattering as it slipped from my hand,

With it, it took my heart, for reasons I didn't fully yet understand.

I looked toward the children again they were oblivious to all around,

I listened as their giggles faded slowly until I no longer heard a sound.

I felt the blood drain from my head, my knees went weak , my stomach churned,

My body ached anticipating the news, which moments later I'd learn.

My life was taken from me that day, my world vanished in one moment of time,

Everything I was ever sure of was gone, the only thing I ever called mine.

I hoped the children would be ok, that they were ‘to young to understand’,

I hoped they couldn't see their mother in this moment, barely able to stand.

They told me you did your duty, that you were a brave soul,

They filled my hands with your uniform, but they left a gaping hole.

I laid it out beside me, where you would normally sleep,

I cried a river of tears and drowned as it ran so deep.

I faded as I realised, I wouldn't know the man you would become,

I would never see you grow as a father, guiding our three sons.

The war had taken a soldier, it took a number from the roll,

The war had given a country an ally and changed the political poll.

But, It took from me my confidante, it took from me my best friend,

It gave our children a void to fill and a funeral to attend.

It took from all our children, the right to have a father in their life,

It left a shell of a women, in the form of a grieving widowed wife.

They say that war is fought, so that we can see a brighter day,

To me it is a red river running so deep, it’s depths stealing worlds away.