She spreads the wedding gown
of soft white lace
upon her bed -
then glances at the mirror
at her face.
They have let her know
that he is gone.
He is dead, and someone said:
“You must soldier on” -
Soldier on?
She thought:
I am no soldier
I am no Marine
I waited here for him
hardly seen by any
as important.
Seen by some as just his friend
and others a fiancée ~
Still, she always got the news
second hand,
even on that dreadful day.
And as the years rolled by
she made a life for herself
but she still has the wedding dress,
it lives in a box on a shelf -
It’s made of white chantilly lace
and she sometimes spreads
it out on the bed
and looks in the mirror
at the tears on her face.
She’s older now,
made wiser now, by Life…
She will be the forgotten Veteran -
not yet a wife -
the one who "soldiered on"…
She was his girl -
his fiancée for awhile…
and then he was
gone.

©Christina Sharik
February 2000
Revised June 2001