I counted the days
and they counted the lonely nights
until my return.
Two Christmases
and two birthdays each
lost,
never to be given back to me.
What I accomplished for my country
is so rewarding,
but the void in my heart
where my family should be feels
so wrong.
I let life at home escape from
me and I need to return.

Free to leave this barren desert,
a rush of relief.
This flight is the longest
of
my
life.
Anticipation and anxiety race
through my mind.
Raleigh, North Carolina.
Three hours until I’m home.

The voice of the attendant echoes
through my body;
Thirty minutes until landing in Boston.
My emotions run wild through
the entirety of the flight,
heartbeat louder than the engine
as my thoughts jitter from one to the next.

Descent. Land. Home.
Finally.

I will never forget the moment
when I locked eyes with my daughter
as she sprinted toward me and leaped into
my arms, shrieking
“Welcome home! I love you,
Mommy. Me and Daddy
missed you so much!”
And we are a reunited family.