A young woman
sits on the ground
beside a tree
tracing a design
into the dirt
with her
fingers
She looks
into the sky
then across the fields
then back into the sky
thinking about her spouse
(a police officer)
she had waiting for
to celebrate
their newborn child
the message
arrived
he won’t be home
again
_____________________________
Revised poem from
“When Twilight Begins”
a book published in 1969
by Jim Wortham