The Bittersweet Joy Of War Poem by Lisa Wilson

There are some things
you will never get over,
like the first time
you kissed a boy, or
you took off on your ride
without training wheels.

Then there are the things you
wish you could forget,
like the time your father
slapped you for riding
on the back of a boy's bike, or
the time you got spanked
for smoking a joint
in the girl's bathroom.

Yet now, as my clock
ticks soundly into middle age,
I see just how lucky
I've been to experience
some of life's greatest
joys and sorrows.

I have watched a father crumble
under the weight of war
that no one should've ever fought.
I have watched a mother
cry herself into oblivion
for marrying a man
who had been lost
long before the war.

Mostly, I remember
how joyful it was
to run and kick and scream
in a house that made us feel
like the battle had been won.