Author’s Note: To be the spouse or partner of a war veteran can truly be an exercise in vigilance. We become aware of the significance of particular dates, of images. We might notice goosebumps raised on the arms of our beloved from what might seem meaningless to anyone else—but to one of us, a sound might make us come to attention in our own quiet ways.
~
I know
without asking
that he’s heard it.
“Chinook”
he says,
as helicopter sounds
shred
the night sky.
A veteran’s wife
learns
to hear things
other people don’t.
Lisa Lutwyche received her MFA in creative writing from Goddard College in Vermont. Lisa’s full-length poetry collection, A Difficult Animal, came out in 2016 from Saddle Road Press. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for her poetry twice (in 2000 and in 2015). In 2023 one of her poems was shortlisted for the international Bridport Prize in poetry (based in the UK). Lisa has taught creative writing workshops in Philadelphia, Delaware, New Mexico, and also in the UK. She is currently an adjunct professor of English at Cecil College in Maryland, which she has been doing proudly since 2013.
