My most ambitious and emotionally significant project, The Picture in His Wallet is a tribute to my great-grandmother Deola, who left behind memoirs of her experience during World War II. I carefully transcribed her words, dividing her reflections into thematic sections. For each section, I wrote an original poem—sixteen in total—that responded to her memories while expanding into broader commentary on universal themes and historical context.
Blending historical memory with lyrical verse, the collection offers a glimpse into the unseen battles fought far from the front lines. I wanted this project to honor not just my great-grandmother, but the countless women whose quiet strength helped shape history.
Some excerpts from my poems:
“When war calls, a girl must zip up her white dress—and ride home in silence. War does not wait.”
“Fathers who cradle their dead sons cradle the face of God. Sisters who tend to their ailing brothers tend to the wounds of God.”
“I count the war headlines like rosary beads—each one a prayer that your time away won't grow longer. And in a way, waiting becomes its own kind of war.”
The book’s title, The Picture in His Wallet, reflects how women like Deola became emotional anchors—symbols of home and hope—for those fighting abroad.
“Shall I remain the apple of your eye, the picture in your wallet, the rose that wakes you, and pulls you home?”
It also explores Deola’s imagined inner world:
“To follow the hush that calls me down a dirt road that remembers my name... to chase a pink sun stretched like memory across the sky.”
Even in peace, the scars of war remain:
“It’s hard to utter homesick when others are just plain sick. But I’m sick for stillness.”
The narrative touches on major WWII events such as the Battle of the Bulge:
“Even winter held its breath.”
It also examines how language became a weapon in itself:
“Language, once the vessel of thought, now the artillery of their souls.”