I have found a way beyond the gaseous state of my mind,

While absent thought or memory emptiness forms a blind,

Unable to penetrate the unseen forces brought of loneliness,

With no thought to guide my form I have become a mess,

Written words with no destination found its way to the floor,

Each word I write sounds so lonely I just can’t write anymore,

One hundred twenty five days of fear that’s brought by war,

Crumpled paper in a corner says I should leave it at the store,

Absence of Texas nights fill my room with more emptiness,

Words to apologize for saying I care seems wrong I confess,

But if I have to, to keep you near, as an old broken friend,

From the confines of my assignment I’ll love you to the end,

I’ve folded paper into shapes all covered with but a word,

Dear is a stop sign in my letters for words that go unheard,

From my heart through my mind and down to my fingertips,

I try desperately to be just a friend then I remember your lips,

Fear is a sensation that accompanies me when I walk alone,

My room is slowly filling with “afraid” as if it’s a light shone,

No man can protect you as I can for I’ll be a fortress of stone,

Love creates devotion yet devotion is love’s best part known,

A fortnight and a near a week has returned me to this place,

The tag of ‘no mail Pat’ brought tears racing down my face,

More painful than a bullet ripping through my flesh to stay,

Memories of your eyes upon me dim with each passing day,

Dark waters pound against the rocks creating ocean spray,

My creation of dark waters explain teardrops within the fray,

Tides made of fallen tears have joined the battering today,

Each wave a creation of my pounding heart withering away,

I see my heart amongst debris I’ve thrown upon my floor,

There’s a letter beyond dear wishing we eloped long before,

Each word was truth I spoke to you when I worked in a store,

If again I see you Patti Gail I will speak to you of evermore,

As darkness fills my room with darkening of what was day,

You’ll invade my mind for near two hours before I find a way,

To type words begging forgiveness for what I meant to say,

Or am I a fallen warrior locked in limbo before I can go away,

No greater pain or punishment could be placed upon my soul,

I am the lowest point achieved by man unless thrust into a hole,

I’ve carried this tissue of your lips imprint until no longer whole,

Oh how my life has changed if begging forgiveness is my goal,

If I could leave this place with purpose to tell you of my heart,

Tears would flow from my eyes while I struggled hard to start,

I would tell you of wasted paper with but a word upon the floor,

I’d say that I’m sorry, but since that day I love you even more.

The end, by Pat to Patti December 8, 1968