“draft”

we were stuck in-country
six months after
the war ended-
i still freeze up
when i see sand-
and she kept a st. anthony medal
tucked in the palm of her hand
and kissed it every time we went out-
i asked her if she meant to have
st. christopher
to bring her back safely
and she said she didn’t care if she made it
if she couldn’t find what she had lost-
and leisure takes more out of you
than work-
and every time he came back from the bar
he promised it would be the last-
and i never hated myself-
but i wasn’t proud-
and i always wanted more-
but i never strived-
and we just waited
for our numbers to come up-