The fourth poem, written with raw emotional intensity, captures a wife's unwavering devotion to her soldier husband. The poet expresses deep longing, resilience, and hope during separation through rhyming couplets. The verse intertwines personal love with patriotic sentiment, depicting the emotional landscape of couples divided by conflict. The narrator draws strength from her love, proudly displaying her husband's wings and maintaining faith in his eventual return. Her words reveal vulnerability and courage, painting a poignant portrait of endurance and commitment during a challenging historical moment.
For Jay Dunstan to send to her husband Sgt. Observer Colin Mill in England
Darling, I love You
by Patricia Savage
Darling, I love you
In my heart are the words so simple & true,
My adorable husband, I do love you.
And though you are far across the sea,
I knew, my darling, you are thinking of me.
My love for you makes me strong inside
And helps me to smile as the tears I hide.
I also have faith & know that you will -
Come back to me - your love burning still.
Every night when to God I do pray,
I ask him to make me staunch & brave,
Brave like I know you'll always be
And staunch forever in the fight for the free.
Our love for each other will live thru' the war
And even the thought makes my spirits soar.
You’re fighting for everything you hold dear,
And that you will win to me is so clear.
So, on my lapel, I proudly display
The wings you gave me when you went away.
Till your return, my dear man in blue,
I'll be waiting always with my love for you.
AI representation of a young Australian airman leaving for the war
I had some difficulty in translating the names in the first two lines. I thought it may have been Fay but it would have been spelt Faye. The husbands name isn’t there and I’m sure it translates to “Observer Colin Mill”.
The fact my mother wrote this on behalf of someone else suggests she may have been helping Jay Dunstan express her feelings during a challenging time of wartime separation. This could indicate several things:
Perhaps Jay Dunstan was struggling to articulate her emotions and sought help from my mother.
My mother might have been particularly skilled at capturing emotional nuance in writing.
A close friendship or familial relationship between your mother and Jay Dunstan could have prompted this act of literary support.
Regardless, the poem remains a powerful testament to the emotional experience of military families during wartime - the love, hope, anxiety, and patriotic spirit that characterized those relationships.
I also thought the note may be classified as prose rather than a poem, so I ran it by Claude.ai and this was the response.
This is actually a poem, not prose. While it might initially look like prose because of its paragraph-like appearance, it has several key characteristics of poetry:
Rhyming Structure
Each line has a rhyming partner (e.g., "true" with "me", "inside" with "hide")
The rhyming couplets create a musical, rhythmic quality
Metrical Patterns
The lines have a consistent rhythmic structure
There's a deliberate cadence that follows poetic meter, not standard prose writing
Intentional Line Breaks
Lines are deliberately structured for poetic effect
The capitalization at the start of each line is typical of poetry, not prose
Emotional and Lyrical Language
The language is more elevated and emotive than typical prose
There's an emphasis on metaphorical and symbolic expression
Technically, this would be classified as a lyric poem - a poem that expresses personal emotions in a songlike manner. Its form is closest to a traditional love poem or ballad, with a narrative quality describing the emotional state of separation during wartime.
The piece is definitely a poem, not prose, despite its paragraph-like visual presentation.
