don't speak
I must not show the fear in my heart
when my Sailor leaves
I must not show my distress in the light of day where others can see it
Stiff upper lip, and all that
don't speak
of the fear that wakes me in the middle of the night
dreaming of him in cold waters
dreaming of a knock on my door
tell him I love him
I wait for him
Standing on the widow's walk staring out to sea
I can no longer see his ship
even as his face fades from my mind's eye
I'm holding his voice in my heart
When I cry he tells me that I'm silly
that I know that I'm being silly
that I know he will return to me
don't speak
of the nights when the sun has set
and I crawl into bed
and bury my face in his pillow, crying
loneliness swallows me
though it shuts out fear it buries me in grief of another sort
don't speak, because there's no words at all that can say it
I prepare for the next WestPac, and I school my thoughts to patience
I school my mind and my heart to serenity and calm
I am a sailor's wife, and I know the truth in an old saying
If you love someone, you have to let them go