The letter came that fateful day,
To tear you and I apart.
The weeks before you were forced on your way,
Were a blur of a blackened art.

For months I agonised for your return to date,
In sorrow deep enough for fiction.
Until on the dreaded list I read of your fate:
"Missing In Action"

In years that passed, I waited alone,
While no news came of the part of myself.
Hordes of soldiers were flocking back home,
But your file just gathered dust on the shelf.

I knew not if you were dead or alive,
I knew not what to do.
I had closed my heart, praying you would survive,
To love again, seemed taboo.

Time flew by and my hope began to dwindle,
Though I still clutched at your small chance.
But soon all was left was a flickering candle,
Quivering in its uncertain dance.

What was I to think, I was torn,
Should I love again or retain my faith?
Surrender hope or stay lovelorn,
Or choose another to take your place?

My anguish one morn was put to an end,
When finally, I learned,
That I had to let go, could not pretend,
For I was awaiting one who would never return.

The letter came that fateful day,
To tear you and I apart.
But 'Nam was not where the fighting truly lay,
The real war was within my heart.