When they say the war is over
The tears will burst forth from my eyes
Tears of happiness,
Relief,
And of thankfulness.
We will all come out of hiding
From our homes.
The doors will burst open
We’ll all run out into the street.
There will be dancing,
Laughter,
And embracing.
We’ll hug our neighbors,
Our friends,
The family we’ve been separated from.
Tears will be shed,
When we give each other the biggest
Most heartfelt hug…
For, we know.
We know what we’ve been through,
Apart,
But yet,
Together.
There will be a newfound appreciation
For embraces,
Quiet conversations with friends at a coffee shop,
Feeling comfort in a crowd.
For all the things we’d taken for granted
We will now cling to
And savor.
There will be a thirst
Finally quenched.
All that was lost
Will be found
Grieving will give way to healing
And understanding.
A fire will have been ignited
Within our souls
A lust for life,
Found again.
When the war is over,
We’ll remember our pain,
The tears we cried,
The angry shouts
Inside the confines of our walls.
But, that will only be a page
In the story.
For,
When the war is over,
We’ll remember the beauty
We found along the way.
When time slowed to a screeching halt,
Some of us dizzy from the lost momentum
From our frenzy and frenetic pace of before.
We’ll remember planting seeds
In the garden.
Sunflowers and lavender
Growing and blooming before our eyes
In the season of slow,
Still.
Of watch and wait.
And we’ll remember planting seeds
Of hope.
To our family, friends . . .
To those across the world.
We’ll remember the heroes,
The ones who told us to have faith,
To hope,
Dream,
Believe.
When the war is over,
We will laugh again.
And we will remember
What it’s like to live,
Again.
Wayfaring Wren 