"My Kind of Love"
By Lani Hankins
I love sipping on a fresh brewed cup of coffee in solitude before the sun rises
I love dirt roads winding along pastures full of cattle while the smell of hay and honeysuckle rests upon the breeze
I love hearing the howitzers reverberate throughout the hills and steel grinding from passing locomotives
I love seeing the geese return after a long winter and the soft pitter-patter of raindrops after a drought
I love warm beer and cheap restaurants where the guests are more pleasing than the food
I love mixtapes that change genres as often as I change moods and wearing headphones attached to nothing but the perception that I wish not to be disturbed
I love walking alongside ruts made by wagons traveling west for new land or gold and standing on a shoreline as the waves wash over my feet
I love the smell of diesel and Old Spice because it reminds me of my dad before cancer stole him away
I love the feeling of leather that's been broken in and the softness of a newborn
I love the warmth of the afternoon sun, starry nights, and places outside of town
I love hard and love often and love the littlest of things to include even that which does not love me
Lani Hankins is a former Army female engagement team member and a veteran of Afghanistan. Follow her here. Listen to the Savage Wonder episode with her here.
She blogs and podcasts at Kruse Corner.
Bunny: Poems About Surviving Military Life by Lani Hankins
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
What’s happening at VetRep…
VetRep is a finalist in the theater class for Hudson Valley Magazine’s “Best of Hudson Valley 2024”! The elimination ballot is live for the next round, so follow this link and vote for Veterans Repertory Theater!
Listen to our latest episode with Jean Ciampi on the Savage Wonder Podcast, where we interview incredibly talented musicians, artists, writers, and theater professionals, who also happen to be veterans.