Collecting the nationally-recognized poems of Victoria Kelly, When the Men Go Off to War captures the hopes, anxieties, and intimacies of the military spouse during a time of war. Written over the course of her husband's deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, these haunting poems span vast geographical distances and generations, moving between the literal and the fanciful to find community in the midst of isolation.

Part one: Departure. When the men go off to war -- The hotel -- Watching from the runway -- The good wife before deployment -- The messengers -- Lessons -- Patuxent River -- Planning -- Reverie on leave -- The beautiful sadness -- Hotel Cipriani -- Standing on the airfield before war -- Part two: Assence. Homecoming -- Nights in the gulf -- Harvard reunion -- Almost -- Unknown numbers -- To my husband flying over Afghanistan -- The funeral -- Love letters -- How Emirati women shop -- Thoughts of a high school boyfriend -- The prayer flag -- Prayers of an American wife -- On Sundays -- The student -- Boudoir -- Part three: Homecoming. Annapolis -- Atlantic City -- Kwansaba for a wounded warrior -- Key West -- Heroes -- Outside the airbase -- Accidents -- Josephine -- The crash -- Rock climbing -- Elegy -- Ghosts -- The green flash -- Birth -- Into the fray -- The war is not here -- Ordinary evenings -- Flying the Persian Gulf.