Empty Airport

by Lou Marin

I press my head to the cool glass,
eyes scanning the 200 empty seats
for a discarded or left behind memory
as your plane taxis out to the runway.

Eyes scanning the 200 empty seats,
I picture you, by the jet way exit,
napping, legs sprawled out, arms folded,
leaning against your battered Alice pack.

For a discarded or left behind memory
is all I have of you since you left
alone on an early morning flight
to Norfolk, and then on to Iraq.

As your airplane taxis out on the runway
I pray for God to guide you through
danger and bombs and the reality of war.

______________________________

Lou Marin, a Christian grateful for Jesus’ gift to him, was born and raised in the western hills of Maine, then spent 20 plus years wandering the country and world in the United States Air Force. Maine Department of American Legion’s Historian, he is a photographer and stringer for The Maine Trust for Local News, published poet and short story writer who pens faith based devotionals. He lives in Rumford, Maine. He is author of an anthology of poems based upon his military career entitled “Dimly Seen Through The Mists,” and a book of faith based poems entitled “My Lighthouse In Troubled Times,” available through Pen It! Publications.

Lou can be reached at mbsphotog@yahoo.com or his Facebook Page. His poetry can also be read here: Dimly Seen Through the Mist: Military Poetry

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.