BETRAYED?

BETRAYED?

He had been gone away to war
Over two years and a day
When all at once he found himself
Flown home for a short stay;
No time to call and share the news
He'd be surprising her
His taxi arrived just before dawn
The driver said "Welcome home, Sir!"

A strange car was in the driveway
All was still and dark inside
He used his key to let him in
And then he almost died;
For on the couch were her clothes
And a man's cowboy hat
An empty pack of condoms
Lay on the fireplace mat.

The soldier had seen destruction
Bombs and broken body parts
But this time he was sickened
From his own broken heart;
He staggered out the front door
And walked away from home
He sat down at the river
Cold, destroyed and all alone.

He never opened her letters
He never took her calls
He became a lonely robot
He built up sky-high walls;
He re-enlisted and stayed put
And the years all went so fast
Then he returned to Canada
His only leg now in a cast.

She came to see him one fine day
And though the years had gone
He saw she still had brown eyes
Though her hair was colored blond;
He laid there in the hospital
Made believe he was asleep
And when the Nurse asked her to leave
He thought he heard her weep.

He opened some of her old letters
Years after she had died
And felt himself go crazy
As he read all night and cried;
"I'm sorry that I was away
When you came home from sea
My sister said you'd been here
Did you think she was me?"