I’m writing to you once again
It’s much the same as yesterday
But my perception’s slightly skewed
Rearranged, my faith renewed
For now, I’m known as I am known
A soldier in a field of stones
Somewhere in between two worlds
Trying to get back home
It’s much the same as yesterday
But the sky tells a story all its own
Shades of muted blues
Confusion in clouds
Shapeshift faces
In a countenance of hope?
Not so, change comes eventually
Sunrise or sunset? Perspective kills
Trading fear for red horizons
Shooting stars for fallen angels
A restless night without a name
In retrospect, we see life clearly
Fill in blanks with what could have been
Eyes adjust to grave details
Written here, remembrance, vague.

You told me once, when all else fails,
I fall back on poetic words
And now I see this much is true
Choices made, we can’t undo
Words I’ve gathered into glasses
Poured out as drink offerings
To shadow gods and mischief makers
Stirring broken lives in cauldrons
Boiling over with contempt
Spilling time like money spent
For freedoms that we held so dear
Destiny whispers in my ears
The price you paid is weighed in blood
Fighting for redemption
When salvation was enough

It’s a long way home, indeed
The light, once bright, is dimming now
From what I was…to where and how
I stood above my body, watching
Moving in slow motion
Looking down as if a show
The field is empty, where I lie
The birds have all flown south
Something sweet and salty
On the inside of my mouth
Still, it’s such a long way home
The flight has been delayed
February, March, April, May?
I heard you making plans
Talking with your sister, Jen
Drinking wine with colored pens
Invitations to our wedding
It was such a beautiful day

But the sky told a story all its own
White clouds with a hint of gray
A yellow sun felt warm in June
And it was over (all too soon)
We danced inside a dream
Our friends made circles in the sand
The ocean filled the background
As your Father sang, “The Wedding Song”
We left with tin cans clanging, clashing
Dangling wishes, farewell waves
Your mother whispers Jesus saves…
I read it on her lips
Heading to the airport
Now the plane lifts off the ground
And the sky tells yet another story
Happily, unbound.

High above the clouds
Thirty thousand feet, it was
The engines droning, breathing, labored
Lulled into a dream and then,
I hear you speaking once again,
“The plane is landing soon.”
But I woke up somewhere else
A desert in my mind, it was
Time was speeding up (and is)
The honeymoon, we surely missed
You said goodbye with all your love
That kiss for luck was not enough
The ring around my finger
Now a locket for your neck

I’m writing to you once again
The days burn with the sun
I long to hold you, kiss your lips
Wake up by your side
Taste your scent, touch your hair
Melt within your arms
I love my country
Love our son
Love you as my life
The desert sky is watching me
It has another tale to tell
A conjuring more than a spell
But that is neither here nor there
Don’t worry, darling, I’ll be home
I’ve told you many times.

Time is slowing down again
I watched you read my words,
Talking to your best friend, Dawn
Welcome home sign on the lawn
For who…I wonder who?
It seems like only yesterday
Our son was born inside a storm
I was away…to where? How long?
The sky, so blue, was in his eyes
We agreed his name was David
A once and future king…
Samantha, if it was a girl,
You loved that name (me as well)
A blessing, either way, it was
I would have loved to be there
See tomorrow in his eyes
Like skies with different stories
Blue with shades of promises
Crying tears for mother’s milk
Listening to you singing
Lullabies of what will be
Songs of hope for what once was
First steps toward acceptance
Walking steadfast over fire
Kinderkingdoms, worlds of wonder
Now the miles cling like demons
Devils point with bony fingers
Brother linked to arms, to wrists
Hands covered in blood and mud
Days that drown in fear and floods
Still, it’s such a long way home

I heard you talking on the phone
Arrangements made and plans to make
The day, the time, the moments blur
The flights on time…yes, you told me
Thank you notes, paper, pens
Details for a page to fill
Obituaries for the living
How many words will you need?
They charge by inches, don’t you know?
How many exactly? How many lines?
How much does each line cost?
How many lines will best describe?
How many will suffice?
How many details make a life?
Which lines do we sacrifice?
Lines of people to receive
Lines from prophets we believe
After dinner…where to dine
After, after…always after
Passages to read aloud
Dust to dust and on and on
Cemeteries, viewing hours
What to send instead of flowers?

Now, the days rush into lifetimes
Was it not so long ago?
I asked you for your number
And called you the next day
My friends said I should wait a week
But I asked you anyway
You said yes, and that was all
The date flowed sweet, as I recall
Falling into perfect moments
Sometimes love is as it seems
We shared some drinks and dreams
On a brightly colored blanket
Picnic in the park,
stretching into twilight time
Speaking into hearts and minds
Imagination…heaven’s grace
A canvas sky to write a poem
Placed inside a book of love
The sky became a footnote
In a story you relive
I heard you cry in Mother’s arms
She whispered, Jesus saves, again
Still, the sky had other plans
Other tales to share, indeed
Other worlds for early graves
Disappointment, wants, and needs

Blue skies are illusions, honey,
You should know by now,
The sky is actually black.
It’s all reflection, how about that?
Seas of glass and ocean dreams
Nothing’s truly what it seems
First kiss to the last…
Covenants for future’s past
Time we gathered, time we lose
Time we fall into
A kiss for love to say I do
Like wishes cling to stars
A kiss upon my forehead
As a child drifts into sleep
A father, son, and brother
Husband, lover, friend
Sacred threads of now and then
Clocks we can’t rewind
Memories are surrounding silence
Battlefields are in the mind
Food for thought that comforts, not
Details clouded, gray deceptions
But that’s another story
For a sky we’ve never known
A story with a different end
Today you have but one sky only
Watching like a secret friend
Carved into grey remembrance
Like it’s chiseled into stone
Listen to how it goes…
We are gathered here today
Twenty-one guns and more tears
Folded flag, faith in God,
friends and family near
If there’s anything I can do, please call
Roses, dirt, thoughts, and prayers
A letter that I wrote, you shared…

I’m writing to you once again
It’s much the same as yesterday
But my perception’s slightly skewed
Rearranged, my faith renewed
For now, I’m known as I am known
A soldier in a field of stones….

TM DiSarro

©2025 TM DiSarro/MindScapes Publishing

From: Upcoming Book