Proof of Life

By Mike Nelson

It’s been a long time

since the telephone rang.

But only a mother or father would

 understand that certain twang.

It never rings in the midday

 or any other time convenient to say.

No, it’s late at night or in the early morn.

and whenever it rings, it’s never the norm.

It’s a son or daughter calling from Iraq

and I always worry who’s got their back.

You see the war has changed

and the safe places are gone.

It’s just a phone, a loved one’s voice

 and a prayer to hang on.

The waiting is left to a husband or wife,

a mother or father who need Proof of life.