Days of drones and dishes looming
Sirens screaming, rockets booming
I’ll turn on something soft and soothing
Sweep the floor and sing
Stock the shelter, keep my cool
Pick the grandkids up from school
Dig out my set of power tools
Fix what needs fixing
‘Cause I’m not moving to no hotel
My home is here, my kids as well
The neighbors split, but what the hell
They were all bark and no bite
My grandson Gal is in the reserves
Got a lot of lip and too much nerve
Got a pregnant wife who he left to serve
Said: ‘Grandpa, I’ll be alright’
The TV shouts the news reports
Night grow long, days get short
Thoughts and memories to sort
Worries and fears to stoke
In the distance, plumes of smoke
Late at night I still hear the roar
Scenes from the Yom Kippur War
Tanks advancing, gunshots, and gore
‘Till the jackals drag me from the dead
Never spoke a word about it
Changed the topic or talked around it
Hid my helmet but the boys found it
Tucked away in the shed
It’s been two years since Tali passed
Tumor tore through her lungs and back
Doc dealt percentages, we did the math
She said: ‘I’m dying, that’s a fact’
Gal’s baby girl will be named Tali too
The name means something like: ‘my dew’
I’d say it helps but it wouldn’t be true
Just want my Tali back
She’d get me through the drones and dishes,
Birthday cards and get-well wishes
Clean me up and sew the stitches
When my balance goes
When the sirens sound, I stay in place
Sit back on the sofa and stare into space
It’s me against time, no one wins that race
Whatever happens happens, I suppose
TV says we must stay strong
Nights get short, days grow long
Grandkids visit, then they’re gone
Dishes in the sink to soak
Been a while since I last spoke
But in my head conversations flow
Sometimes Tali even tells me jokes
I laugh real hard until I choke
In the distance, rising smoke
Jeremy Koloski 