Before You Disappeared

Dress blues in the closet

Still sharp on the hanger

Dust on your name tape

Hands start to tremble

You trace every ribbon

Like a map of old scars

Every piece of colored metal

Says you once knew who you were

You miss the uniform

And the way it held you together

Constant perfection

Pressed in every folded letter

You miss the ones who laughed

At the jokes you can't say here

The pride when you stood tall

Before you disappeared

You could sleep on steel and stone

Now you can't sleep at all

Chasing ghosts in the drywall

Calendar’s a blank wall

Fridge hums

House yawns

Coffee gone cold

News on

Sound off

You miss someone barking orders

More than whispers and screens

When you knew what was expected

Not this fog in between

You miss the uniform

And the noise that drowned the silence

Teamwork on the tarmac

Shared cigarettes and defiance

You miss the tours overseas

Same sky

Different ground

Adventure and danger

Braided tight

You held your ground

You could sleep on steel and stone

Now you can't sleep at all

Chasing ghosts in the drywall

You walk the aisles at midnight (yeah)

Under supermarket light

Counting exits

Counting tiles

Counting ways to make it right

You remember your purpose

Like a picture in a frame

Faded at the edges

But you still say its name (its name)

You miss the uniform

The mission in the morning

Boots by the doorway

Bags packed

No warning

You miss the ones who knew

Every shade of your dark humor

Who heard the crack in your voice

Hid it under rumor

You could sleep through sirens then

Now you can't sleep at all

Lying still

Eyes wide open

While the past stands guard

By your wall