Before the Wars
Yesterday, right after my swim,
a little girl sang out unabashedly
in a locker room full of solemn men,
while her father dressed himself.
Like the others present,
I continued my routine,
but was privately enchanted
by her joyful her song.
All of us old warriors,
unable to join her in voice,
had fallen deathly quiet.
I mused to the man on my left,
“We were all once like her.”
He smiled knowingly,
while she sang on.
We dressed without further words,
both of us trying to remember
the lyrics to the songs we’d sing
before all the wars.
“Only the dead have seen the end of the war.”
This poem has been adapted and was originally shared on May 1, 2017. The original is included in Tomorrow Could Be Wonderful: Brian's Poem of the Day: 365 Daily Meditations Vol. 1.
©Brian Mueller - All rights reserved.
