Ultimate Price

Young love parted in war

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Brave was her heart as

She kissed him one last

Time before he left for

Battle, steadfast in her

Love as months passed,

She wrote letters, sent

Small care packages,

Hoping to keep his

Spirits up, bring him

Comfort, news was

Scarce from the front

Lines but she heard

That battles were fierce,

Each day she walked to

The town hall to check

The list of those lost,

Sighing with relief not

To see his until that day,

Tracing the letters on

The paper, tears tracked

Her cheeks, turning

Back in disbelief, her

Love was gone forever,

The price of war in a

Foreign land, the path

Home seemed longer,

Wrapped in melancholy

As if it were a shawl,

A bride now a widow

At just nineteen, sitting

On her porch rocking

With a hopeless heart.

By Gail Constable

From: Canada

Instagram: witch_of_words1955