I Don't Know - A Memorial Day Poem

I don’t know you.  
I don’t know how much you cried
How you begged him not to go
How you were proud of him with a lump in your throat
As you watched him go
Off to war.

I don’t know
The excitement you felt with each letter
The relief that he was still alright.

I don’t know
How exactly it felt in your body
The day you learned
He was gone.

Was it a kick in the stomach?
Your chest tearing in half?
Your eyes on fire?
Or was your entire body
Completely numb?
I don’t know.

I’ll never know
How you struggle to put each day together
How it felt to give up a boy
And get back a folded flag.
How you knew he hadn’t died in vain
But weren’t really sure.

As I live my blessedly mundane life
Full of family gatherings and petty arguments
I’ll never know how it feels to wonder
What he would be like now
Why a child of 22
Had to die.

I’ll never know any of these things
And I’ll never know you

But I thank you.

How would I cope, were I in your place?
I don’t know.