Grief - The Journey Home Poem by Paul Warren

His phone rung loud that night
It made him jump up in a fright
He was in his truck driving through
'Dad, John's phone just rings out too'
'My friend says there's a crash'
Alone and his decisions can't be rash

His daughter now can't keep calm
He grips the wheel tightly in each palm
'I'll come home as fast as I can'
'The best thing to do is stick to a plan'
As he is trying to keep his thoughts at bay
He is four hundred k's from home away

The time keeps on dragging by
The truck cabin and the night sky
Close in around him in thoughts extreme
How could this happen and what does it mean?
The silence is defeated as his phone rings
What will be the devastation it brings?

It's his daughter again as he hears her cry
'John's been killed I can tell you it's no lie'
He has to stop the truck he is trembling so
Trying to pull himself together he has to go
He needs to get back home for his family
The grief breaks with his son's face he sees

Back in the truck and he has one aim now
Back to his family to be with them is how
It needs to be and to see them is his aim
Through the night each kilometre to gain
The hours pass as the tears roll down
Until the lights of his home are found.

© Paul Warren Poetry