My husband sits for days on end,
Staring through his empty friend,
My tearful words fall alone,
His mind resides in combat zone,

A man replaced by shell so cold,
Numbed by scars of war untold,
Violent dreams lived each night,
Lashing out, at all in sight,

He returns to war inside his head,
Trauma stained by all bloodshed,
A trigger pulled, his mind released,
Begging for, all thoughts to cease,

His scars remain, but can't be seen,
Buried deep inside his dreams,
Years of therapy, will help him free,
From the damaging effects..
.. of Post Traumatic Stress

I pray for the day, he's finally home,
So the trauma of war, can leave us alone.

So....
You're 25.....
You've survived!
25 years and
more than 25 tears shed
over 100 times
25 beers
Not counting 25 lies
And 25 broken ties
Or the 25 and more blows to your sunken in eyes
Here's to the 25 + shovel strokes
To get you out of that deep dark hole
The hole you were birthed into
25 years prior
With no voice, no choice
No written down plans to escape from fire.
But you've jumped from that window of the 25th floor building;
Each story built
from each year
that you're holding.
Not knowing if you'd collapse
from your fall
Or relapse
or perhaps
even survive at all.
But you chose to anyway
Better lie dead smashed on the pavement
than go out burning away.
Took a long time to hit rock bottom.
Never dreaming you'd reach the ground,
never thinking of your feet
or that you'd land on them.
But you made it!
You've crash landed!
Took 25 years until you couldn't stand it.
And now you're standing up
for the very first time.
From the crash
and the ash
and you're feeling alive!
Took a dive to realize
This whole time inside
That you've got it in you.
The strength to survive!

She kissed me
not because
she wanted to
but because
she could.

We fell in
love.
Not because
we could
but because
we wanted to.

We made
mistakes.
Not because
we wanted to
but because
we could.

We thought
we were
perfect.
Not because
we could
but because
we wanted to.

I vomited in
the bathroom
of a
Baltimore
7-11
because
sometimes
you cannot
hold it in
much
longer.

Her hands shook
as she held her
mirror
because
sometimes
your reflection
can only
tell you
so much.

My body shook.
Her body stiff.
And when
the bodies
move
the hearts
stop.

She lied some.
I drank words.
The veins
in hands
are maps
to imagined
consciousness.

Really,
it's just
a
*******
*****.

Music to
my ears.
Nervousness
between
blinks.
Noise to
my brain.

She said,
"I love you"
not because
she wanted to
but because
she could.

I said,
"I love you, too,"
not because
I could
but because
I wanted to.

You heard I am a rose laced with ice
You’ve heard right but will you sacrifice
The glorious bounty that is your life
And cut open your shadow with your knife.

There is no punctuation in this story,
We are going to live till our souls get weary.
‘For better, for worse’ is not a myth,
You must stay even if I become a witch.

To be with me, there is no grey
Only black or white or stay at bay.
Love me entirely and don’t let me fall
Or shun me completely and don’t ever call.

Before we fall in love, you must be warned;
We’ll stroll into flames to crumble as one.
In that moment, our love shall not clash;
As two burnt roses become one gust of ash.

I dreamt of you last night
Right after our big fight.
Emerald grass, sky’s blue.
No view matters but you.
Looking like passion’s fruit
Dapper in a sharp suit.
You hand me a bouquet
That will never decay.
Your skin no longer glows
And then your fake smile shows.
Before me, you transform
Your jeans below your ***.
In that moment I knew,
I’m only in love with the thought of you.