22 my husband

Free Verse Poem by Phoenix Lilly

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There’s a fever you can’t cool with a cloth

My stomach is turning gears and  snatching every word painfully

I try to formulate

Some feelings

A thought

My language is diced and scattered

My husband’s world lives inside my head

And I am a foreigner in my own country

My husband is in Afghanistan

I walk the pavement in my city

And handle conversations

But I exist in a place I can’t touch

And no one hears me

I’m here

I’ll never make sense except to my husband

Who knows my fears that have me on edge

Oh Gentle night

He’s taking off for work and we have a few moments

I love you

Sleep calm

He says before I’m left in silence

You are my everything

22 ( which is our language, how we say goodbye and he’s coming back)

I sigh under the stars

Cool breeze

I exist here where my husband feels home

My world is in his head too

The bombs and explosions

Won’t be his life forever

The way he cares for my heart

More than his fears

Is a place I see with my soul

22

Phoenix Lilly is a poet who was born in Oregon and recently moved to Utah a year ago to make a fresh start.  She loves reading poetry and wants to host a radio show one day with her husband.