By Mark A. Leon

He said he’d write as we said goodbye
Dressed in his best shirt and tie
He was a boy I swore my life I would love til the end of time
I cried as his plane disappeared into the clouds
A soldier boy, a man, a stranger in a strange land
Thousands of miles separate our love, but the promise of the young is stronger than gold

Waited by the moonlight for a word or call
Waited again on another nightfall
Spring turned to summer, summer turned cold
Frozen in a moment, feeling more alone

I remember the smile just before that kiss
“I’ll be back and then never to leave you again”
Those words, in a locket I keep
Clenching each day until the promise becomes one more kiss

One day the letter came
Dangling off the front porch
To my love, a promise I…