When you wish upon a star, 
it's like a soldier, gazing from afar
in a desert, longing for home.
When they reached the USO,
All they got was a dial tone.
With the night comes an occasional "full moon,"
while you're eating your MREs with a plastic spoon. 
Your Army buddies can relate.
You're far from home 
and your daughter's going on her first date.
Your wife's alone, worrying about the bills.
This peacekeeping task will test all of your skills.
You wanna reunite with your wife and kids.
Why, yes! Of course!
Hopefully your deployment won't end in divorce.
A soldier's job is complicated.
The time away from loved ones is understated.    
The River Sped On
By William L. Snead
VA Medical Center—Iron Mountain, MI
Tons of water, ice and snow 
slammed down from the ice-capped mountain 
and plummeted a THOUSAND FEET
to the bottom of the melee. 
Gushing water spurted upward to form 
a dazzling blue, red, green rainbow.
And here the river was born;
from here the river sped on.
It saw villages and towns at peace with themselves.
And the river sped on. 
It saw a speckled fawn grazing
near the end of a lush green cornfield.
And the river sped on. 
It flowed through the bustle of business of a large city, 
its dark buildings looming as grotesque phantoms 
during a soft summer night.
And the river sped on.  
Then a wayward hand touched the wrong button,
and the world stood still. 
But the river asked no questions;
it gave no answers. And it told no lies.
It just sped on.