I left her and our two kids,
To fight for our country,
The law forbids,
Me to stay behind in Tennessee,

I knew she would take care of them,
And answer every letter,
Since love can’t be condemned,
I knew she’d get better,

Guilt filled me that day,
As I gave the last kiss,
And flew away,
As I was slowly dismissed,

The moment that will always haunt me,
When she looked into my eyes one last time,
And mouth the words, “I love thee”,
Like I had committed some crime,


She knew I’d do everything to stay alive,
To see her once again,
It would be hard to survive,
With the front-line men,

As I step off the plane,
I know I must be brave,
Through the pain,
Even though I can’t be saved,

The bullets surround us,
Bringing on the fight,
In all the distress,
I find time to write,

I tell her of the war,
And how I love her even more,
I talk about the dead,
And all those who have bleed,

But through it all,
I tell her to keep standing tall,
To hold the fort down back home,
Where I will soon roam,
I read her letter back,
Down to every fact,
Of how they have grown,
And wish I weren’t alone,

Letter after letter,
Mine getting worse,
Hers getting better,
Hers long and mine terse,

The more I wish to run,
Could the killing ever be done,
But her letters keep me going,
And her confidence ever growing,

She thinks I’ll come home soon,
Maybe next June,
Going back, I begin to doubt,
Since I know I’ll never get out,

Her hopeful cheer,
Makes me fear,
She’ll miss me more,
If I don’t come back before…
I don’t let myself go there,
Since there’s already too much to bare,
I know I’ll be fighting tomorrow,
Despite anyone’s sorrow,

Out on the battle field,
If only I could have been healed,
For now she will be left to battle on her own,
Since she will now be the one alone