“I’ll meet you here when the war is over.”
I waited for you.
The days became weeks.
I waited.
He’ll come, I knew.
The weeks became months.
I waited.
He’s not coming, they said.
He’ll come, I responded.
Seasons changed.
I waited.
A whole year passed.
I waited.
Time to move on, they said.
He’ll come, I responded.
The decades passed.
I waited.
He’ll never come, they said.
He’ll come, I sighed.
Today you came
I waited no more
Holding out your hands
I walked into your embrace
I waited.
You came.
The war is over now.
wc:100 exact, title included. 🙂
Author’s Note: I hate this new format, it just doesn’t break this up into stanzas like it’s supposed to! Grrrr…They’re are supposed to be six. grr…. That said. I’ve got a cold… sinus cold. Not Covid, thank you, Father! Fluids, rest, and a ton of tissues. Inet from the parking lot, though. Don’t want to spread even a cold. sniffle, sniffle… sneeze. Also: not sure what the deal is, but whenever I try to open a link through the inlinz froggy, it tells me I need to reboot my computer…. so IF I don’t get to you, it’s not my fault! Grrrr…
This short little fiction is written for Friday Fictioneer ‘s , a 100 word writing challenge hosted by the lovely Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Thank you, Dale Rogerson for this week’s picture as well. If you would like to read more short fictions, or am in a mood to participate, then please, follow the link and come to join us around the table. We’d love to have you!
Wow! A war lasting decades. Most of those are undeclared
LikeLike
I don’t think it was the war, Neil. How many women waited for their lover to come home and they never did. That’s how it’s supposed to read. Durn WP and their new format, really trashes stanzas… and stanzas make the difference here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely piece. I worried all the way through he wouldn’t come…
As for the formatting, I tried the usual trick modern editors seem to (for whatever reason) use – if you use “Shift-Enter” you get less line spacing than with just “Enter”, so you can maybe use that to group lines together, using “Enter” between stanzas.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll try that, thanks. I just wish it would single space between lines.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Microsoft Word is the same. If you select the “code view” in the WP editor, you’ll see that it’s inserting a paragraph on “Enter”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s lovely, even if it didn’t take the form you wanted it to. Such a long wait!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just pictured my Granny. I asked her once about Grandpa. She said he went off to War – Normandy Beach… never came home. She never did find another love. Every Memorial Day, she took me to their “special” place and told me about him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoyed reading your prose whatever the form.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was supposed to be a poem. That’s why I’m upset with WP… this new formatting they have won’t transcripe poetry correctly.
LikeLike
I agree. The new WP is driving me crazy.
LikeLike
I chose the quote block to write a poem the other day. The spacing was better. I don’t suppose that was how WP expected but it worked.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. I’ll try that.
LikeLike
Beautiful and sad and tender all at the same time. Well done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Lain. Just remembering how much my Granny pined for her lost love. He went off to war, never returned… she waited.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a wonder she waited that long. Glad that he finally came back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think they met in death…at least that was what I intended. I’ll probably rewrite this one. I had to cut much for it to fit word count.
LikeLike
Oops didn’t realise that. I had taken it literally 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s okay. Poetry is often open to interpretation. Your’s was much more hopeful.
LikeLike
A beautifully written piece with a heartwarming conclusion.
I share your frustration. I had exactly the same problem formatting mine this week!
Here’s mine!
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is something about human belief loyalty that you don’t truly understand – hope is a wonderful thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed hope is.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Bear,
In reading the comments I see that the intent was they met again after her death. Either way, it’s beautifully written and heart rending. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
This morning, with less cough meds in me, I can see both interpretations. Still crunchy, but vertical… at least for the moment. I really ran out of words and had to cut a HUGE portion out to get it down. I think it lost that finality in the cut-down.
LikeLike
She had faith that he would, despite what others said, and she was right. A long wait but a happy ending.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved the happy ending.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So many will relate to this, sadly war destroys so much. Yes the the new WordPress formatting is very challenging
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very sad. She waited and waited until they met again, this time in death. Very melancholic, well done
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Michael. I know my Granny never found another love after hers was lost in the war. I may have never met my grandpa in life but I sure didn’t live without knowing what kind of man he was.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautifully written, Bear. And, I see through the comments that they meet again in another place… Lovely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautifully written. (The new formatting really is a pain, isn’t it? I don’t know who it’s intended for, but nobody I know likes it. It just messes up lines, paragraphs, and stanzas.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad she waited. I’m glad he finally made it back. I love stories like this. Hope you feel better soon, Bear.
LikeLiked by 1 person