i felt your face, disfigured,
kissed the pleats of keloid
puckering your jaws. you
were cold, flushed with
camphor and distance.
my mother warned of this,
not long after you enlisted:
war transmogrifies the men
and suffocates the wives
with silence.
i know now. i am not the
balm we thought i’d be.
you twitch in your sleep:
reflex, regret. your body a
hollowed rind. when sleep
rescinds, i press an ear
to your rib and listen
for farsi or fruit.
Stacia L. Brown 
4 responses to “combat.”
this is so sad….
my dad and mom both were in army…i can relate..
i like this one, stacia. 🙂
thanks, tank. 🙂
The imagery in this is so alive I nearly cried… especially here:
“i know now. i am not the
balm we thought i’d be.”
I have to echo tank, I definitely like this.