The Struggle - Pantoum

 The Struggle

The sun rises on another cloudy day,
He awakens from another sleepless night,
Of the dreams he had he will never say,
The struggle to stand is always a fight

He awakens from another sleepless night,
Never certain of what the new day will bring,
The struggle to stand is always a fight,
His collateral damage is an awful thing

Never certain of what the new day will bring,
He can never forget where he’s been,
His collateral damage is an awful thing
He can never forget the things he’s seen

He can never forget where he’s been,
He finds it hard to stay in the game,
He can never forget the things he’s seen,
A life of service has left him lame.

He finds it hard to stay in the game,
Of the dreams he had he will never say
A life of service has left him lame,
The sun rises on another cloudy day

Copyright  © m.henry 2024.  All rights reserved

The Veteran - Sestina

 The Veteran

The morning he came home as a Veteran,
He didn’t feel the joy of love
He didn’t feel the pride of his duty,
He believed his mission was done with honor,
Though his part was small, and he wasn’t a hero,
He came home proud only to be humble

He quietly loved his life and family and he stayed humble,
He never announced that he was a veteran
He never wanted to feel like a hero,
He wanted to find peace, with integrity and love,
He simply wanted to forge a quiet life of honor
Doing what was right was still his duty

The word echoed in his mind, “duty”
A word that always kept him humble
His civilian life was one of honor,
And he started liking his life as a veteran
He began to think of his service with love,
And he began to see a volunteer as a hero

Something happened when he saw selflessness become heroic
Something happened when helping became duty,
It wasn’t about pride, it was about love
Learning to love himself made him truly humble,
That was what it was to be a veteran,
That was where he truly found honor

He served not for glory, but for your honor,
He served because those he loved were truly heroes,
Those at home were why he was a veteran,
And he saw that end-of-service was never end-of-duty,
He always held watch, ever so humble
Freely given to all with love

He never expected anything in return, but a little love
He volunteered not for glory or honor,
He continued to serve to keep himself humble
Little did he know that he became a hero,
To those with which he shared the same sense of duty,
To those who also wore the hat of a veteran

He never wanted the love of a hero,
He only wanted to honor his duty,
In his life as a humble veteran

Copyright  © m.henry 2024

Haunted By You - Freeform

Haunted by you

 

Visions of you are all I have known,

I have seen your face as I have grown

 

You come to me in the dark and now daylight

I run to you in sleep and all through the night,

 

Elude me you have until this very day,

I will hold you close to hear what you say,

 

Your lips do not move with the voice in my head

An apparition to some, to others you are dead

 

Your words make no sense but still fill my thought,

I wonder now why today you have been caught.

 

I let loose and you stay and point at the hue,

You take my hand and we go; I am dead too.

Of Beauty and Grace

Of Beauty and Grace

She walks with a grace unknown,

Through days of tedium,

And nights of loneliness,

She rises to meet her life

She rises for the love of her children,

For the unconditional love of strangers,

Needing the love and light of an angel,

Risking her own heartbreak at every turn.

She shelters a light in her soul,

That keeps her hopeful,

That sometimes shows through as a sparkle,

Seen in her eyes so deep,

like a glittering flame of indigo.

She walks with a beauty unknown,

A shining smile on the darkest days,

With a dream to find a love to match her own,

To rekindle a spirit lost long ago,

Locked in a cage around her heart,

Patiently waiting for a heart-shaped key

She dreams the dreams of lovers,

When the night is quiet and the silvery moon,

Spills through the window into her empty bed,

To give her solace, to wipe away her tears,

That have fallen far too often,

And for the wrong reasons

She knows not, how the rest of the world sees,

The remarkable soul she possesses,

The compassionate heart she shares,

She is a vision of beauty and grace through and through,

Who doesn't know she is someone else's dream

© M. Henry, June 2013

The Pledge - The first writing I ever posted to Social Media blogs (circa 2007)

The Pledge

            The night was warm and still as he lay in bed.  There was a full moon that night, placing her splendorous form in silhouette.  He watched her there sleeping by his side, and he thanked the stars for sending him an angel.  She lay on her side with her back to him as he gently stroked her long dark hair.  He enjoyed the feel of her silken hair and would spend hours, just moving it through his fingers.  She did not move as she deeply and peacefully slept.  As he watched her, he began to think to the future.  He could see them together, just a little older and with two children.  They are happy and comfortable and their children healthy.  That vision progressed and he could now see that they were even a little older, sitting in the swing on the porch in the twilight of the evening.  Their children now grown and beginning families of their own; the youngest just finishing college.  They are happy and comfortable and the children successful.

He placed himself in the shoes of his older self so he could look back at his life through his vision.  He saw many good things and some not so good.  He saw himself grounding the children for sneaking out of the house.  He saw a car accident that hospitalized him and nearly left his family without a husband and father.  He saw his wife there by his side day after day as he fought to survive.  He could see the pain in her face and could feel the pain in her heart.  He wanted to comfort her as he lay comatose in the hospital bed. 

He was proud to see the graduation of both of his children and loved them with all his heart.  They took after their mother in both looks and drive.  He could feel the bitter sweet pain of his children leaving home and having to realize that his little girls had grown into intelligent, responsible, mature, beautiful women, just like their mother.  He remembered their honeymoon, and how they fell asleep on the catamaran in Jamaica and had to be rescued by the coast guard.

He watched his entire life play out before him as he lay there beside the woman that was just a vision in his heart only year before.  He had one final vision.  He saw his wife of many years on her deathbed.  She was nearing eternal sleep and could not wake.  He could speak to her but could not be sure she could hear him.  He felt helpless and powerless to stop this event.  He loved her with everything and knew nothing else in life.  He missed her. 

He began to caress her face and held her hand.  He watched her face as he spoke.  Her eyes remained closed.  His eyes filled with tears as he pleaded with God to not take her yet.  He spoke to her one last time:

“You have been in my heart since I was a child.  I searched for you through my adolescence, but you were not there.  I prayed to find you and God did listen.  He kept you for me.  He kept you until he knew I was ready to handle the full weight of your love.  He kept you safe until he knew I couldn’t spoil a perfect union.  You came into my life like an angel and that’s how you’ve remained for all these years.  I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect mate, if I had made you myself.”

“You have given me a wonderful, beautiful family that means more to me than anything in the world.  You are my life, you are my love, and you are my wife.  You are everything I ever wanted and you’ve blessed me with riches far beyond my wildest dreams.  How did I get so lucky as to be loved so completely?  You are my best friend and my biggest critic.  You are my hero and my strongest adversary.  How will I be able to make decisions without you quietly guiding me?  You are a part of my soul, the air I breathe.  I did my best to make you happy and provide what you needed.  I pray that I was able to show you the kind of bliss that you have given me over the years.  You are my past, present and future.  You will always be with me and a day will not pass that I will not go to you.  But you take a big piece of me with you also, that will never be replaced until we are once again united.  I have asked God to take me in your place.  He has not answered.  You are my whole life.  How will I survive without you?”

He placed her hand on his weathered face and wept uncontrollably, and then the vision was over.

He gazed upon his lover sleeping next to him and began to caress her face.  He felt such an intense, all enveloping love, that the tears began to quietly fall.  He touched her cheek and wept not from the vision, but from the love born in the heart of his soul mate.  He whispered to his lover as she slept:

“I give you my heart completely.  I give you my love completely.  I promise to always be there for you.  I promise to always love you.  I promise to always provide and protect you.  I promise to give you the best that we can muster.  I’ve loved you since I was a boy when you were just a dream, but here you are in the flesh.  I promise to raise our children with tolerance and patience and love.  I give myself to you fully and completely.  This is my pledge to you, the love of my life.”

He kissed her softly on the shoulder and whispered “I love you,” as he snuggled up to her back.

She sleepily whispered, “How did I get so lucky as to find a man like you?  You will meet my every need and fill my every desire.  Our children will be beautiful and we will live happily together.  You will not be alone after I’m gone.  A part of me already belongs to you and our souls are entwined as one.  We were meant for each other and I know that God saved you for me.  I have loved you since I was a girl, and here you are….”

He hugged her as tightly as he could. 

 © m.henry, 2007

Breathless

Indigo Night

Indigo Night

The shadowy moon,

peered down upon us,
listened to the softness of your voice,
as it sweetly whispered,
hope into my ear.

You looked at me,
the stars twinkled,
from behind your eyes,
deep and brilliant,
like diamonds,
lost in a well.

They saw into me,

effortlessly at depth,

where few have been,

deeper still,

you found a spark, 

and gently lifted it,

from interminable slumber

Love flowed again,

from the tips of your fingers,

as they traced the line of my jaw,

and I pulled you closer,

to embrace your ethereal form.

Time stands still,
in a perfect embrace,
oddly natural and familiar,
as if we’d held each other,
a thousand times before,
I am home,
here with you,
in this perfect moment,
where the world dissolves around us,
and we float among the moon and stars,
and the love between two people,
never felt so pure,
granted us,
By the magic of the night.

© m.henry 2018