A summer,
That never seemed to end.
Together on the beach,
Our last summer before you left for the war.

The war no one believed truly existed.
You held me every night,
Afraid of losing me.
You held my hand to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

We sat in the sun dreading,
The end.
Dreading that last day,
During our long walks on the beach it seemed to be further away.

Then the day came.
I stood there clinging to your shirt.
Begging you not to go,
You disappeared,
I fell to the ground.
The memories came flooding back,
Tears filled my eyes.
A month later I sent you the first letter.
You are going to be a father.
I waited night and day for a letter back.
It came a month later.

I had to wait a year before you would come home.
The letters went back and forth.
It was a girl.

Her eyes shined with the same light yours did.
Four more months,
Until you, came home.
A soft knock came from the door.
As I opened the door my face dropped.
As I heard the news I fell to the ground.
It was the end.

The end of you and me,
The end of your life.
As days went by I couldn't help but cry.
Holding onto the shirts left behind.
Watching your picture as I tried to sleep.
Your side of the bed never seemed so cold.

Sitting there with friends,
While they talked.
Not hearing anything at all.
Watching the little girl grow with hallow eyes.
That’s all that’s left of you.

A little girl,
With the same light as her father.
Determined to keep going,
Never looking back.
Days turn into weeks.
Weeks turn into months.
Months turn into years.
A little girl who tripped over her own feet now,
Following her father’s footsteps,
Joining a war that was, far from over.

It isn’t the fighting that makes it a war but,
The lives, lost.
In the end the lives are all that’s truly lost.
In the end it was never worth it.
In the end the lives were worth more.