On November 11, 2020, P.T. Wyant posted at ptwyant.com a Wednesday Words prompt which included a war hero, a flower, and a book.
This poem was the result…
Everyone said she was a war hero
No one knew about the book
A flower pressed between the pages
Fragrance of a distant soil and secret sins
The ledger itself is old-fashioned, bound with leather
The words within written with a shaky hand
The weary truths of an aching heart
Bled bit by bit upon each page
Composed from secrets kept too long within
So much of these pages contradict the legend
Fed by speeches given about heroism from smiling politicians
She didn’t smile back yet she looked so smart in her uniform
Every inch the officer and the gentlewoman
Just another taciturn military type
You’d never guess at the terrible decisions
Continuing to haunt her long after she’d made them
Terrible choices to save as many lives as she could
Actions she took to stay alive herself
She kept those truths hidden behind her teeth
Not wanting to disillusion her daughters or wide-eyed granddaughters
All those hopeful, patriotic girls, eager to enlist
For the truth is not nearly as inspiring
Even if the truth reveals that she’s human after all.
inspirationcauldron 