It’s good to have you home
By Andrew Ladak
Hello, son.
It’s good to have you home again.
I know you haven’t really been
away that long,
and even now, it seems you left so recently.
But then, for those of us you left behind
it felt like an eternity.
Don’t get me wrong,
but I confess that when you left,
we didn’t want you back so soon, like this.
I’m sure you knew when you were there
that you were greatly missed
and always in our minds and prayers.
And so, while you were gone,
that yellow ribbon graced
the weeping willow on the lawn.
And in the living room, of course,
we kept your photo on the shelf,
above the fireplace,
so handsome in the uniform,
just like the one that I had worn,
so many years ago.
We’ll leave your picture where it is
and maybe add a few.
We have a lot of them, you know,
and many memories to keep.
As time goes by,
we’ll carry on as best we can,
content to let the willow weep.
Believe me, son,
we’re happy that you’re home again,
and that you’ll never go away.
So rest in peace, your duty done.
And rest assured that now and then,
on sunlit summer days,
and snowy gray ones, too,
we’ll come to visit you.
