Home on Leave

By Ruth Bassett

We sat together there, within the Church,
You in navy blue, with stripes of gold.
You in navy blue! My heart turned cold
With apprehension, and I turned to search
Your bronzed, uplifted face, afraid to find
A grim resentment that would silence prayer;
But only trust and reverence were there,
And trust that he to whom you prayed is kind.
I thought, in death’s stark nearness he has come
Nearer to God than I, who feel secure.
Whatever he is called on to endure,
The vanguard of that faith will bring him home.
So comfort came, as we were sitting there,
As if in answer to a sailor’s prayer.

(1951)