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by Karen Green
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There was no war
in your stories about the war
There were buddies
and nights spent drinking
Hawaiian girlfriends
furlough
but no war
I was on a ship
you told me
intercepting messages
sending code to allies
dodging fire an ocean away
I volunteered
you told me
a patriot when that still meant something good
a son of immigrants
a pacifist
It’s not incongruous
you said
and refused to be drafted
We were not that close
you told me
before telling me
that your sister ship sunk
that your friend ran away
that you were there
when spirits and boats
went down
Not that close
Is our unit of measure now
for people and for fear
pain
disappointment
hurt
Not that close
Is the distance between men
and memories of war
and nightmares
and the stories
they tell their children
when they can’t pretend
they weren’t there
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Karen Green is a freelance writer living in Chatham, Ontario with her husband, two children, dog, and cat. Her creative and editorial work has appeared in many venues, including Room Magazine, The Rumpus, SFWP, The Globe and Mail, CBC, The Forward, and the best-selling, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Cat. She attended York University in Toronto for Creative Writing, George Brown College for Publishing and hopes to continue to be a lifelong learner.
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