When he talked about it
Out of the blue
I listened carefully to his words

The war was decades old
In his mind
And he had stories to tell

Missiles slipped off incoming planes
Scraping across the deck
He leapt out of the way

He cleaned up the messes
Left behind
When the hull was struck

A man walked into a propeller blade
On purpose
He cleaned the deck of blood

He only spoke of it one time
To me
Only one time

Elizabeth N. Love is a resident of Kansas, where the blue sky meets a flat horizon. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Kansas and writes science fiction as well as poetry. When not writing, she is found chauffeuring two children to activities, cooking homemade meals, and practicing creativity in music, drawing, and needlework. You can find out more about her on her blog, here.

Photo credit: SkyDreammer on deviantart / Design credit: Laura A. Lord