Mothers of Soldiers

By Christina Sharik

armymom@tampabay.rr.com 

Most of my "war" poetry has been inspired by people I knew who started going to VietNam in 1963, when I was 16, through to the end of the VietNam war. Some were friends, some were boyfriends, and one was my husband - we divorced later. The POW poems were mostly inspired by the man whose bracelet I wore--Maj. Jon Reynolds--and my imagination. I also write poems about my son, Michael T. Ream, who is a Sgt. in the Army, presently on his second "tour" in Germany. He has also served in Somalia, Korea, and just returned to Germany from Bosnia. It sometimes seems that I have been sending care packages forever! I'm married; live in Florida with husband, Scott, and two dogs and three cats; and am a legal secretary. I like to read and crochet and write letters and poetry. I'm researching my father's service in China during WWII, and I'm on the DAL Net "vietnamvets" channel as "ArmyMom." 

My father served in World War II,
Grandfather, World War I
-Your father served in Viet Nam
And then I sent you, son
-Off to join the Army
And I was filled with pride
-But I also knew I'd miss you
And when you left I cried.
Well, you've been in the Army now
Ten long, eventful years
I'm filled with joy when you come home,
And when you leave, more tears.
You see, when you are "somewhere"
I feel that I'm there, too
In my heart I walk in front
To help you make it through
-I live for calls and letters
I wait for each of those
-And sometimes in the dark of night
I'd like to hold you close
-That's the sacrifice we make,
We mothers of the sons
Who march with head held high
And carry deadly guns
-For we remember little things like playing in the sand,
-We remember walks in parks
When you would take our hand,
-You are the boys we took such care of,
The ones we rocked to sleep
Those are the memories we carry
And the ones we need to keep.

Previous Story           Back to Calendar          Next Story