Mom, I’m Coming Home
Four simple words
Or so one would think
But not when your Son is a Marine
He is not coming home from college for the summer
He is coming home from long days and nights of training
He is not coming with a car load of everything he owns
Instead he will have a military issued backpack slung over one shoulder
He will be home for a handful of days
In which he will cram in seeing family and friends every second of the day
Grandma will be baking all his favorite sweets
I will have the fridge stocked with all the meals he has missed
He will crash on the couch a time or two
I will capture a quick pic
We will sit and talk as he fills us all in on his life
As I say, please tell me more
Because I don’t know the next time I will hear him say
Mom, I’m coming home
Jennifer Kiesling © 2014
Categories:
kiesling, life, military, mom, son,
Form: I do not know?
I sat in the corner of the bookstore
Laptop open
Swirling paper and ink smells
circled with the coffee flavors
Lost in thought
I see this woman in front of me
I wonder where she has been?
Does she know where she is going?
There is a sadness in her eyes,
that holds me there
Wondering who and why?
Sometimes I see a flicker
like a spark before a fire starts
a slight smile
as she seems lost in her own thoughts
I wonder about her life
I look away
yet drawn back for one last look
Swipe of my finger
my screen comes to life
As I begin to type
For it was me I was looking at
Jennifer Kiesling (c) 2017
Categories:
kiesling, absence, abuse, adventure, anger,
Form: I do not know?
Back in the day
I stood rigid against the sky
Dressed in crimson red
I could be seen from one hill to the next
I was the shelter for many on this land
Sometimes the farmer would stand
Pitchfork in hand
Leaning against my door frame
Watching a storm roll through
Knowing I would protect him
Summer time my mouth hung open
As they filled me with square meals
Of sweet smelling hay
Through the white winters
I held in the warmth for my friends
As they bedded down for the night
Through the years
My naked boards have peeled skin deep
I now moan and groan
Leaning slightly to the left
Against the Iowa winds
Few seek my shelter
Afraid my boarded bones will splinter
Yet I still stand here
As a reminder to all who pass
That these memories are what
Hold me together
Standing against the test of the
Midwest time
Jennifer Kiesling (c)2016
Categories:
kiesling, appreciation, emotions, giving,
Form: I do not know?
This poem is set with a black and white picture taken of the inside of an old wooden bridge. The crisscross of the boards creating the support needed and a strong friendship to a friend moving away created this mixture of words.
As we journeyed
Searching for each covered bridge
I couldn't help but think
How these gateways to another road
Stood the test of time
Those bridges are like friendships
Many boards had to be placed just right
Sometimes with a little adjustment
then a perfect fit
Holding each other up through thick and thin
A bond held strong because they
Support each other
The stories that they can tell from the past
opening to new stories yet to come
These bridges have stood the test of time
Just as our friendship will continue moving on
The distance is just another board placed
to lengthen the bridge
Keeping the friendship
Covered and safe
Jennifer Kiesling (c)2015
Categories:
kiesling, absence, best friend,
Form: I do not know?
The first moment he said those words
“I want to be a Marine”
‘What if’s’
Started forming in my head
Never once spoken out loud
Sunrise to sunset
Even as I wandered around in the night
Thinking
Praying
Dear Lord please keep him safe
What if………
What if………
I couldn’t stop them
Though I tried
Those damn ‘what if’s’ would creep in
Positive thoughts always from my lips
My heart beats with each step he takes
My son, My Marine
Not even today
Will those ‘What if’s” ever
Come from my lips
Never to be spoken, to be heard
Or the words I type
Never to be seen, to be read
Stand down ‘What if’s’ I have screamed
I will never let you free
Forever buried deep inside of me
I will never give into them
Because I am a MoM
Protecting my Marine
The only way I can
With my love and support
Knowing this is truly
The silent drill
Of the MoM journey
Jennifer Kiesling © 2017
Categories:
kiesling, mother son,
Form: Verse
Words to my son before the Crucible
The meaning of the word
Crucible - a vessel made of material that does not melt easily
A fitting saying for what you have been training for
What you are about to enter into
Miles of hiking
Little food
Less sleep
Working together as a team to accomplish what some would deem the impossible
But for you it is possible
For you have the strength, knowledge, courage and faith
To enter the Crucible
Everything you have encountered in these last weeks will be used
And above all else you need to remember this…
There are no words strong enough to let you know how very
Proud I am of you
Know that through it all I am right there with you
Deep in your heart, for there is where the true meaning of
Semper Fi beats.
This is not given to you
You earned it
You will succeed to the very end
Walk with pride for you are about to become a United States Marine
By:Jennifer Kiesling, aka MoM (Mom of a Marine)
Categories:
kiesling, military, mom, son, usa,
Form: I do not know?