Emily-World War 2 Poem by Kent Werges

How did I talk to 22 year-olds,
using the radio to bring
them back from night raids?
Those who flew the ghost ships

from England to Germany
and almost back to base-
the gray metal allowed bullets
to pass right through.

The Army used women to coach
the young sailors of the sky home.
Sort of a siren's call-
many died on the rocks or in the sea.

The last boy was no easier than the first.
I cried for silenced voices, not people I knew.
The pain hung from the airwaves
the stillness whispered another was gone.

Who helped me through the tears-
the laughter, prayers and screams?
Glenn Miller stroked my temple
with his wax trombone