Echoes

grandpa was

air force

nuke missile

base

assigned

in missouri

final tour

before

retirement

thats

the way

our family

came

remained

and reason

i was

show me

born

raised

as they

say

he has

told me

times over

about

his best

friend

stationed

here

also

both

of them

career

long

reenlisted

but he

grew

so troubled

it showed

to anyone

who knew

him well

at this point

in the story

my grandpa

always

pauses

voice

serious

continues

one night

late

my friend

told me

come

morning

he was

reporting

to site

commander

that he

could not

climb down

the thirty feet

ladder

again

when

scheduled

into a

buried

nuclear

weapon

launch

room

i just

cant

he was

to his

country

loyal

as anyone

grandpa

knew

yet unable

to follow

that order

now

air force

treated

him

fairly

grandpa

adds

near

whispering

never heard

again

from my

friend

after that

we change

yes

we

do

our country

recognizes

allows

it

how

long

will

that

freedom

last

he asks

and i

never

know

for

certain

how

to

answer

his

question

h.

This story was originally published June 30, 2017 at 10:48 PM with the headline "Echoes."