Until We Finally Rest at Arlington

Until We Finally Rest at Arlington
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos

No one has to tell us what freedom really means.
Your boots were back on last night in your dreams.
As for me, no one told me I'd be fighting a war
with memories of things I never saw.
But I'll do what other wives have done since Lexington
fighting this last battle until we finally rest at Arlington.

I still love you as much as I can
but to tell you the truth, you're not the same man.
The man I knew wouldn't push me away
he'd be doing whatever he had to do to stay.
If you're afraid I'll stop loving you,
then darling you don't have a clue
that after all the years we've been through
there isn't anything I won't do for you.

Tell me you don't deserve me in your life
and I'll tell you I'm glad I'm your wife.
PTSD doesn't have to defeat or rob tomorrow
replacing this love of our with sorrow.
So I'm going to tell you exactly what I think of you
like the only person on earth that really knows what is true.

You did what few others have done
from the first battle at Lexington
when brave men fought for freedom to be obtained
and all those who came after to to keep it retained
when all was said and done
the battle back home had just begun
to find your place back at home
feeling as if you had to fight alone.

I know you changed since those dark days
but I also know there are different ways
to change again and live a happier life
to feel all the love I promised when I became your wife.
But fighting wars should never be easier for any of you
then being back home remembering what you had to do.

The grieving you do comes from an unselfish heart
and that was within you right from the start.
It took love to be willing to lay down your life
and courage to endure all the strife.
You may wonder why God let it all happen
but you really need to look again
at all the compassion surrounding you
when your friends were willing to sacrifice for you too.

So please search for all that now
so that you can live a better life somehow.
And the sadness in your eyes will melt away
when you understand that I'm going to stay
and fight for you as hard as you fought back then
until the day we finally rest at Arlington.