She

She
(An Autumn Sonnet)

I came to the Wall on Veterans Day

The morning raindrops drew the tears

I wrote in my heart: 11 November 1998, Wednesday

I waited for more rain, but the gray skies disappeared.

I laid my offerings at the granite panel

My book of poetry, "Dear Daddy," and some precious photos

Then she came, she read; she is her Dad’s Angel

His name is Richard L. Mayes, she called him her dearest hero.

She hugged me for she knew her Dad died for me

Saying all her life has been burning with "whys"

Her Dad never returned home to his two-month-old baby

The day he was killed in the foreign skies.

She wrote him a tearful letter, it was collected at nightfall

Her poised picture I took, I named it "The Girl in the Wall."