story1875.xml
Title
story1875.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-07
911DA Story: Story
Written after my brother received alert orders for deployment. My heart said, No...not again...
THOSE OF A SOLDIER
They are not here, they are away,
"God, keep them safe."
Each day we pray.
Mothers and fathers, daughters and sons,
Have turned and kissed their beloved ones.
"Good-bye!" they wave
"So-long!" they say
And we ask to keep them safe that day.
These losses overwhelming
Our chests heavy with pain
We must be strong
or so they say
So as not to let Hate get it's way!
No face
No uniform
No parallel to cross,
Fight whom? and how?
We are at a loss.
Trained to fight for Freedom's sake
We fight Hate, which has no face.
It cowers in the soul and preempts Grace.
United we stand,
Our colors now blend...
Into ONE of LIBERTY to defend our land.
They are now gone
They are not here
One sits and stares
With loneliness to bear.
They left us this morning with a kiss and hug good-bye
No hand now to hold, so we sit and cry.
Good Lord, bring them home, please don't let them die!
They are not home, they are away
So we keep our proud vigil...and pray they return.
-----------
Daughter of a WWII veteran
Bride of a Vietnam veteran
Sister of a Gulf War veteran
and patriot
Christine Dybas Polodna
THOSE OF A SOLDIER
They are not here, they are away,
"God, keep them safe."
Each day we pray.
Mothers and fathers, daughters and sons,
Have turned and kissed their beloved ones.
"Good-bye!" they wave
"So-long!" they say
And we ask to keep them safe that day.
These losses overwhelming
Our chests heavy with pain
We must be strong
or so they say
So as not to let Hate get it's way!
No face
No uniform
No parallel to cross,
Fight whom? and how?
We are at a loss.
Trained to fight for Freedom's sake
We fight Hate, which has no face.
It cowers in the soul and preempts Grace.
United we stand,
Our colors now blend...
Into ONE of LIBERTY to defend our land.
They are now gone
They are not here
One sits and stares
With loneliness to bear.
They left us this morning with a kiss and hug good-bye
No hand now to hold, so we sit and cry.
Good Lord, bring them home, please don't let them die!
They are not home, they are away
So we keep our proud vigil...and pray they return.
-----------
Daughter of a WWII veteran
Bride of a Vietnam veteran
Sister of a Gulf War veteran
and patriot
Christine Dybas Polodna
Collection
Citation
“story1875.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 18, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/14562.