The Macabre by: Jonathan Alvord, Charcoal, 2018
The War is Not Over Yet
Sepia in tone,
a growing city bustling in the background.
She looks proud and a bit haughty,
standing close to him yet reserved.
If he looks so handsome in his Army Air-Corps uniform,
why doesn’t she wrap her arm around his?
Auburn hair perfectly curled,
red lipstick emphasizing her playful smirk
dress pressed, accentuating her petite curves,
she walks tall, confident and proud.
The war is not yet over, but it is overseas.
Here they are safe, in their lively metropolis.
Perhaps that is why she is brazen.
His face says otherwise.
His smile is half-cocked, but
his eyes are empty and speak of dread.
They have seen too much,
a bombardier,
aiming from the cold belly of a gleaming armed casket with wings.
The bombs fall relentlessly into the French countryside.
He just wants to be with his girl,
her arm wrapped around his.