the price

she would have been born
in Virginia
if her great-great grandfather
hadn't been
shot at Appomattox
she would have grown up
in the 50s
if her grandfather's
blood hadn't spilled out
in a muddy trench
in the Verdun
she would have been a
hippie in the 60s
if her father's ship
hadn't gone down
in the South Pacific
she would have been a
wife and soccer mom
if her husband hadn't
been killed in a
southeast asia jungle
she would be a grandmother
if her son hadn't
been hit by an IED
along a dusty road
in Iraq
this is the price
of war