Going

by William Adler

(2004 Deployment to Iraq)

The familiar, garments
of our separation.
This ritual repeated-
Pain is wrapped
in our comfortable moments.
The moments we share surface
in separation

Revisit our corrupted ideas
of legacy and meaning.
Deeply held
black-clad dreams
haunt our future again
Our separateness, is the real currency,
and the mark of history on our hearts.

We will put on the garments
of our separation.
Familiar and loathed.
There in our parting
A hope
A renewal of joy
When we will be together
Again.

I’m minutes- closer than I was.
This moment gone by- closer still.

William Adler is originally from Marshfield, Massachusetts. He chose a career of soldiering after college graduation but someday hopes to return to the Northeast to teach. He currently serves on active duty in Fort Irwin, California. He has served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and most recently, Afghanistan.