I found what I have left of you Folded away in a box today As I prepare for another chapter of my life. Wish I could call you up right now So I could get a little bit of your advice. Sometimes I forget that you are gone, There was no funeral for closure; Nor an obituary for me to read. Nothing to explain why You no longer call on Sundays To talk food, football, or about your day At the beach. I see a folded flag in the corner And think about the honors you never received. I have to admit it makes me angry; As a veteran, that is something hard to see. As a daughter I now wonder: Who will greet my guy With a shotgun at the door? Who will hand me that cold beer, Or pour another glass of whiskey While we shoot the shit some more? What's a girl to do Once her daddy has gone away? Lord knows how much I'd give For just one more day.
Lani Hankins is a former Army soldier and a veteran of Afghanistan. Follow her here. Listen to the Savage Wonder episode with her here.
She blogs and podcasts at Kruse Corner.
Bottled Away: Confessions of a Struggling Veteran by Lani Hankins
The Gaslit Heart: A Story of Service and Survival by Lani Hankins
Eased Pain: Poems About Surviving Domestic Violence by Lani Hankins
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If you give monkeys enough time, can they really write Hamlet? How did Leon Trotsky actually react to finding an axe embedded in his head? What does it take for two strangers to fall in love without screwing it up? Are you having a bad day or are you simply stuck in a "Philadelphia"? The VetRep 2022 season of staged readings kicks off with an evening of fast and funny staged readings featuring the whimsical comedy of David Ives.
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