A
Surprise Found 1000 Miles Away
Tammy
Manor
I
never thought it would come to this
You, a stranger stationed halfway around the world
Me, an average New Yorker thinking that I'm doing a mitzah
When we first started "talking" I felt awkward and I
didn't know what to say
So I rambled about myself and asked you questions almost in a
job interview fashion
I was impressed by your ability to live in the desert fighting
for the freedom of people
who have lost touch with our nation and don't
care
We e-mailed back and forth every day
I was always happy to see a note from you, however short
You told me you were allowed 30 minutes a day on the computer
and you spent some of
that time on me
We sent pictures to each other and shared stories about ourselves
I was relieved and thrilled when I learned that you were coming
home
Your last e-mail to me included a phone number
When I called you it was just as awkward for me as that very first
e-mail
All I could think to talk to you about was baseball and that was
perfectly fine with you
You told me all about being back home and seeing old friends and
having good food
The way you talked about America made me feel like I've taken
certain things for
granted
That first phone conversation lasted five hours and led to another
and another
What started as a penpal of sorts turned into so much more
I hadn't expected it, I never meant to develop feelings for someone
that lived so far away
Countless hours on the phone and I knew we had to meet
Everyone was concerned for my safety, but I felt like I had known
you for years
I knew I loved you when I got that Saturday morning phone call
and you said you were
going to have to go back to Iraq
I had so many thoughts, feelings and emotions swimming through
my mind and I just
started crying and I cried for hours
You asked me to marry you that day over the phone
It wasn't the marriage proposal I had expected…you weren't
on one knee holding a ring
But in my mind I know that that will come
For now there's just an incredible feeling knowing that somewhere
in this world someone
loves me with all of my faults
I used to be cynical about relationships and men, having had my
heart broken again and
again
But now I know that there truly is someone out there for me
There is no Mr. Perfect but there is a Mr. Perfect for me
Although the miles seem to never end I know that you are my beshert
***
Tammy
Manor teaches high school English in New York City. She has
been writing poetry since she was fourteen years old. She has
done poetry readings for fourteen years. She has been published
in a few academic literary magazines and a few e-zines.
©
Tammy Manor