THEY NEVER CAME BACK
(an April Poem)
I once thought it was my fault
But time has tamed that notion
It had been their choice to go
But they never came back
It was in my defense
For the sake of a lady
Their friend, nearly a mother
Used to be I could see them
I could dream about them
Wake up thinking I could touch them
Just after they left
I waited for their return
I expected their knock on my door
I heard their voices
From time to time
Echoing through my memory
And in my prayers
I hoped that they would hear me
Asking them to give some sign
Some indication that they were there
But time faded the hope
The visions slipped
The prayers became few
They weren't home
They never would be
I'd never hear Mike laughing
I'd never again roll my eyes when he told a dumb joke
I miss those jokes
I make them up now
Wondering if he would laugh at them
And Raphael, he was so angry
When he found out what they did
He was the first to cry out for blood
He swore they would never see light
For what they put me through
Those strangers dressed in black
Don thought his way through it
He planned, worked the strategy
Set up the attack and provided the gear
And winked at me as they walked out the door
And Leo stood strong
His mind set
His fists clenched
My honor to be defended
He had a love affair with honor
It was his mistress
His being
And I...
I was the damsel in distress
I was the lady the knights would avenge
The enemy, they said, would pay
They'd suffer for what had been done
Who suffered?
Who fought the hardest?
The hours passed by
Then the days
Weeks, now...
Maybe if I hadn't told them
Hadn't fallen crying in their arms
If I hadn't let them know everything
They'd still be here
But I'm still here
So maybe they won
Death is swollowed up in victory
Perhaps there was nobody left standing
Nobody
Ours, theirs
My friends
Their enemies
I can still see them
Hear their voices
And when the wind blows just right
The soft, gentle touch
Of a hand on my own
And I'll close my eyes
And wish that I hadn't told them
But I did
And they went
And they never came back...
