The Weary Warrior

April 26, 2022 - think she knows me, understands me, and loves me in a way no one else can. She has not given me permission to identify her as the writer but if and when she does I will share that. This is about my journey with Randy during his years of being sick (that is how I and my family refer to these years) and his death. She captured it so vividly. I cannot read this poem without crying and reliving those feelings, It was a journey filled with so many things. This poem tells the story.

What do you do

When the soldier's tired

Pushed beyond limits

Yet the war isn't over

It's a tired beyond exhaustion

A weariness few truly understand

Arms limp, feet heavy

Unable to move

As if made of stone

She's fought so very long

Fought for the loved one's life

He comfort, his safety

His dignity

But as she looked around

She wondered, had any

progress been made

Was it doing any good

For the battle raged on

No progress made

No end in sight

She barely remembers

a time before

Before the attack

A time when life was normal

Before

Before being forced into

this unimaginable war

When she could relax,

laugh, just be

When she could breathe without pain

When she could breathe

And she asks

Was it every really normal

Or are all the memories

jut dreams

But it came

It came silently at first

So quietly that no one

was aware of it's existence

It burrowed in and

stretched through

Masterfully invading

precious territory

Then it declared war

It began to rob the loved one

The body of strength

The mind of logic and

treasured memories

Inserted in their place

confusion

Phantom voices

Conversations with

unseen visitors

As it robbed the loved one

The enemy robbed the warrior too

Stole her strength

Her security, her normalcy

Her dreams

And left behind

untold tears

Fear, nightmares

And a lonliness

she didn't know existed

She wondered if the war

would ever end

Yet she knew it would

She feared it, dreaded it

And all that would come after

After

But for now she held on

Held on tight

with tired hands

Fought for every moment

she could get

And she prayed

Prayed that her hands

could hold on long enough

That her mind and body

had the strength needed

To continue the fight

to the end

And that when the end came

When the war was over

She's have the strength

to let go

Letting go

Oh that's the hard part

But there's peace

in letting go

Peace in knowing

his strength is restored

That the voices

were silenced

Replaced by memories of

family, laughter

And the knowledge of a life

well lived

Peace in knowing

he took the love with him

It was a long hard war

Well fought on all sides

The warrior has earned her rest

It wont' come

for awhile though

There is still much to be done

But come it will

When that time comes

May the battle worn soldier

Find peace without guilt

in a job well done

And the knowledge that

she did her best

It was enough