Bill and Trulie Broome
Atlanta, Georgia - 1944
FURLOUGH MAGIC
Nothing is as good as a furlough for a military man,
because his serving leaves little time for
family and a special someone back home.
"On furlough", is a release from prison,
a time of no superiors, no ordered duties, and
days starting at mid-morning instead of daybreak.
Take the orders, catch the bus, board the train,
or hitch-hike, traveling all night to have
more time at home for visiting, relaxing and sleeping.
After arriving at four in the morning,
with no one to meet you, the front porch swing is
your home until those who live in
an orderly civilian world decide to begin their day.
Away from the military grind is a different world for
those days when you're disconnected from training to
fight the armies of tyrants overrunning weaker countries.
The loss of personal liberties seems criminal, but
is tightly binding in a soldier's world, strongly enforced until
the conflict ends and he is released to go home.
Time spent with family and friends is
less precious than with the one whose voice
he will store for hearing again her words of
devotion, and a pledge of being there after it's over; in
the role of wife in a wondrous future of
a furlough's magic becoming reality in a peaceful lifetime.