Casualties of War
family portraits
planned but never taken
vacation funds
never withdrawn
a Mexican restaurant
minus one patron
steps to the deck
not quite complete
leaf-stuffed gutters
need to be freed
a toilet seat that will remain
forever in its appropriate place
a smoke detector
absent of its battery
snow swaddled sidewalks
lacking a strong hand
a "Daddy" stocking's
final battle cry
silent in its ornament box
Cheri Byard
Olathe, Kansas
American Red Cross
