In Need of a Hug

Here is the downside of being a missionary, AND YET...... "Praise be to the LORD, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens." - Psalm 68:19

Everyone thinks I'm a superhero,
traipsing off to Africa like a
female version of David Livingstone
but they don't know that
it hurts when Grandpa dies and
there's no one to hug me,
no shoulder to cry on;

I'm alone and
I must tell the kids
only I don't have the heart
because it's Granny and Grandpa Day
at school, so I

drive around aimlessly
through blurred saltwater vision,
not noticing third world
traffic, beat up taxis
edging me off the road...

I pick up smiling children
covered in bits of
popcorn and sticky sweets,
overhear some ladies
planning their weekend and
I want to be invited,
want someone to hug me...

I gaze at unfamiliar stars
in the Southern Hemisphere
and think that Grandpa has
joined the Great Cloud of Witnesses
who cheers me on to
finish the race

but what I want is a hug
because it's hard to be
17,000 kilometers from home
when someone I love
dies
-A.E.