Two Men At The Door Poem by Kristy Raines

Two men in uniform came to her door.
5 a.m. Both standing with little expression.
One a Chaplain, one a Service Officer.
'Ma'am.. We are here to Notify You'.
The next words you already know come, but
You are already so numb you don't react or hear.
You know the drill.. 'I'm sorry to notify you that
your husband was killed in action.'
Things start moving in slow motion. It is like a dream that
you can't wake up from. She turns and walks back inside the house.
The two men follow her and one asks if there is someone to call to come
and stay with her until the Casualty Assistant can get there
to walk her through the next steps.
She sits on the couch. One man on each side of her.
The Chaplain speaks and she falls apart realizing that this is not a dream.
The Service Officer tries not to become emotional as he watches
the woman clutch the hand of the Chaplain sobbing.
Time just stopped for the woman at that moment.
The reality of her husband's death puts her in a state of ups and downs.
She tries to hold it together, but finds herself on a roller coaster of disbelief and then hysteria.
She will never see her husband again.
Two miles away, two men are at the door of her husband's parents
and three State away, two men are knocking on her Parent's door.
All get the same news...... 'He was a hero and died for his Country'.
That is all she remembers that day.
One week later, a casket with the flag is the face that replaces
the once happy face of her loving husband. The flag is folded
so carefully and handed to her in remembrance of the ultimate price he paid and now the ultimate price she will pay for the rest
of her life. Her only prize held in her hands.
She cries the tears of a Serviceman's Wife..
As brave as the husband she buries today.

'Rest in Peace'.. It is his final peace. ©