Seven Years Now, Nearly Eight Poem by Elizabeth Sheaffer

All's fair in love and war
But aren't these two the same?
'You've waged war
on my heart
For 48 years now
And still I come crawling
Back, begging
for more miserable defeat
My bones are weak
My skin is tired
Bruises come
with ease now
My feeble mind
Won't last much longer
And soon I'll forget
You ever existed.'
All's fair in love and war
But aren't these two the same?
Words can be bullets
And we can put up
Barriers, to defend
our pathetic arguments
Let us mull over
fickle emotions
in the rocker out by
the oak tree
Where the grandkids
have their swing
'Don't spatter me with
your shrapnel
Hold your tongue in
check, please.'
All's fair in love and war
But aren't these two the same?
Tough skin like leather
Time wears down
No rest
no food
no time to love
Keep on marching
on 'til dawn
'40 years and I've got
nothing left.
Why do you always
torment me
with your petty excuses?
Make your own damn sandwich, Ed! '
.....
'Mom? Who are you talking to? '
.....
A hand over a mouth
Eyes open wide
Other hand on the heart
His picture by the bed
'Rest in peace'
Above the frame
.....
'Mom? You okay in there? '
.....
Tears roll down a cheek
Tracing the wrinkles of time
'7 years gone by now
Nearly 8
And I still keep forgetting
You're gone...'