Stay Awake

He startled awake, gathered his wits
Not yet used to 24 hour shifts
Especially in a country as strange as this
He rubbed his eyes, shook his head
Tried counting to one hundred
It wasn’t time to be done yet
He tried to continue undeterred
But his thoughts always drifted to her
Probably in a sleep disturbed
By fretful dreams while he was gone
Like every night he wished he was home
To hold her in his arms and not feel so alone
But he’d wed the army first, it had control
And it had first rights to his soul
Even the times when he’d rather let it go
He stretched his legs, a trick he’d found
Sometimes it helped to move around
The base was silent, without a sound

Stay awake
Stay awake
He chanted to himself as he kept pace
Who knew what could happen this late
Had to keep alert, stay awa…

He didn’t even hear the RPG
Until it rocketed him from sleep

She kissed his picture, turned on the light
Just like she did every night
Said a prayer that he’d be all right
He’d said he’d call her tonight from the combat zone
She glanced once more at the phone
Why wasn’t he calling-was something wrong?
She tried to calm herself from wild beliefs
It was the army, she knew there was no relief
The only thing it guaranteed was grief
Sometimes she really hated being army strong
Because it kept him away for so long
Always worrying, hoping nothing went wrong

Stay awake
Stay awake
She rarely stayed up so late
And when he’d call was anyone’s guess
So her head dropped to her chest
Just a few minutes to give her eyes a rest
But she couldn’t go to sleep, had to stay awa…

Through his pain, he tried to sound reassuring
By the time she got the message, it was morning

She wiggled away from her again
As her mom tried tucking her into bed
“Daddy’s coming home!” she said
Her mom laughed and kissed her
She knew how much Daddy missed her
“He’ll be in really late, sweetie,” she whispered
She turned her night light on low
And she ran over to the window
Tried to see to the driveway below
Was he here yet, had he come?
When was Daddy finally gonna be home?

Stay awake
Stay awake
She tried thinking of all the memories they’d make
All the trips all together they’d take
She had to see him, stay awa…

She startled from sleep by a sound
Ran out the door to look around
And saw something that made her heart pound
Daddy was standing at the foot of the stairs
And not all of him was there
But he looked up and said, “Hey, little bear”
And she launched herself into his waiting arms
He held her close, he was still so strong
Everything was right where it belonged
“What are you doing up so late?”
She hugged him tightly, said, “I wanted to wait
To make sure you’d come home safe
I had to stay awake”