By Barbara Castle Hanson
Cape Canaveral Branch, Florida

 

He was an Army warrant officer

in Vietnam,

often assigned

reconnaissance,

the scary, dirty work

on the ground.

 

When darkness descended

over the hilly terrain

he would search for a cave

in which to rest

with one eye open.

 

Years later,

when cancer

was about to take his

being,

his wife held her husband gently

and whispered in his ear:

 

“Honey, remember

when you were in Vietnam

and scared for your life?

 

Go to that cave,

your safe place,

close both eyes in sleep

I will keep watch.”