“On Needle Bed” invites readers into a quiet clearing where exhaustion, memory, and relief meet. The imagery of pine needles, rough edges, and long-held tension speaks to the lived experience of veterans who carry both strength and weariness in equal measure. As part of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Desert Storm war veteran Frances’s ongoing work exploring war, homecoming, and healing through poetry, this poem is for anyone who has held themselves together for too long and finally felt the ground welcoming them back.
On Needle Bed
Rose petal spoke and said, soften the rough edges of your heart,
swallow swooped in to pull jagged shrapnel from skin and bone,
spring fragrance of desire whispered, you will love again,
strands of light, thin columns, find their way to me,
no heat of sun to scorch my soul
under the pine canopy, the world is sepia-toned,
on needle bed I find my rest
having passed through a place where even the strong don’t survive
not too tough to die.
Published with permission of the author.
Frances Wiedenhoeft studied creative writing at Madison College. Her work can be found on warwriterscampaign.org, in the 2015 Ariel Anthology, Praxis Magazine Online, the American Journal of Nursing, the Spring 2020 issue of Deadly Writers Patrol, The Adelaide Review Literary Magazine, and Veteran Voices Magazine. She was a finalist in poetry in the Adelaide Literary Magazine Award Contest 2024. She won the Pallas Athene Best Story Award for “Glory.” Frances was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for her poem “To Any Civilian.” She completed a residency at Write On Door County in March 2021. She is a writer, poet, mother, and grandmother. She is also a twenty-two-year Army veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Desert Storm. She volunteers as a reader for the Gemini Review.