MISSING (Monday Poem)

by Cynthia Cotten


My brother is a soldier
in a hot, dry,
sandy place.
He's missing--
missing things like
baseball, barbecues,
fishing, French fries,
chocolate sodas,
flame-red maple trees,
blue jays,
and snow.

I'm missing, too--
missing
his read-out-loud voice,
his super-special
banana pancakes,
his scuffed up shoes
by the back door,
his big-bear
good night
hug.

There are people
with guns
in that land of sand
who want to shoot
my brother.

I hope
they miss him,
too.


from America At War selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, 2008, Simon & Schuster