Free Verse Poem by Phoenix Lilly
There’s a fever you can’t cool with a cloth My stomach is turning gears and snatching every word painfully I try to formulate Some feelings A thought My language is diced and scattered My husband’s world lives inside my head And I am a foreigner in my own country My husband is in Afghanistan I walk the pavement in my city And handle conversations But I exist in a place I can’t touch And no one hears me I’m here I’ll never make sense except to my husband Who knows my fears that have me on edge Oh Gentle night He’s taking off for work and we have a few moments I love you Sleep calm He says before I’m left in silence You are my everything 22 ( which is our language, how we say goodbye and he’s coming back) I sigh under the stars Cool breeze I exist here where my husband feels home My world is in his head too The bombs and explosions Won’t be his life forever The way he cares for my heart More than his fears Is a place I see with my soul 22
Phoenix Lilly is a poet who was born in Oregon and recently moved to Utah a year ago to make a fresh start. She loves reading poetry and wants to host a radio show one day with her husband.