Before the war we talked a lot

We picnicked in the dells

Throw wishes down wells

Walked the dales

Climbed the hills in all weathers

Ran across the heather

Picked the wild flowers

Laughed in springs’ showers

Huddled near the fire from winter’s cold

We did the things lovers do

Then the war came with guns ablaze

Our world was changed

My love left for foreign lands

Duty bound

I stayed to wait

Time stood still

I was immobile

Images of his face

Feelings of his arms embrace

Poisoned the day’s grace

The only thing that mattered

Was the morning post

Letters from afar

News of his return

At first they came with loving care

Then they stopped

Life was not the same

My heart grew cold

I never again did the things lover do.