Arrival

Waiting for your arrival

Looking for you in the sea of uniforms

My inability to recognize you

You’re gone for only a year

But I’m eight so a year feels like several lifetimes

Just waiting for your arrival

Everyone looks identical

No way to differentiate the people standing there frozen

All with buzzed hair and stern expressions

My inability to recognize you

People disperse finding their families

Only then does Mom manage to point you out

Waiting for your arrival

When you are finally home everything feels uncanny

Like a stranger is living in our house

My inability to recognize you

Veterans day will always mean two things to me

Waiting for your arrival

And my inability to recognize you