You Are Not Alone

The trials of long waiting;
Of watching buddies die
Is something that can, with time
Simply kill all hope inside.

We know patience is a virtue
That seldom is expressed
And when it comes to months at war
One is easily depressed.

Depressed when told of people
And their ungratefulness back home
And losing all encouragement
For this job is never done.

It’s sad to hear of hopelessness
Among our troops today
But it would be just so much worse
If I ended my poem that way.

But no, there is encouragement
And ways for troops to smile
Because just as they pray for support
We’re giving it all the while.

A lot of us support you
With more passion than you know
And while we know we can’t do much
We write, and pray, and grow.

We try to write you letters
To uplift and reassure
And while we often forget to write
Our hearts never fail to stir;

When we find ourselves in prayer
So often through each day
As we are gratefully remember
Why we even live this way.

And then about the growing;
We’ve finally learned to live
Not for pleasures, things or selves
But for the ones who give.

So when you get discouraged
And think you’re all alone
Please stop and take one extra moment
To read again my poem.