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.

We will succeed in stripping you apart,
Exposing your chest and crushing your heart,
Exposing your mind to collective lies,
Twisting your thoughts to their murderous cries,

Forcing your stance on their pedestal high,
Cutting your wings as you fall from the sky,

They left him cold; he succumbed with distress,
Anxiety forced upon weakened chest,
All the black and white pictures the media pressed,
Were tainted with lies a corporate mess,

They dragged his carcass through the public mire,
Flaming their cause and they set him on fire,
They watched him burn his former self,
Leaving his spirit crushed, by failing health,

He then slipped away

In to the troubled path of cyclic noise,
History bleeds within the brain it destroys

Creeping up, a silent foe,
Breaking him down, nice and slow,
Crushing all his hopes and dreams,
Bravery fading, silent screams,

Fighting on, war and peace,
Just to get, a partial release,
A little confidence, suddenly lost,
One step forwards, the ultimate cost,

Walls built, a safe distance,
Hiding the world, from his existence,
A man in a cave, keeping away,
Building the courage, to battle today,

Invisible injury, a runaway train,
Mental illness, significant pain,
Weakness, it's how it's percieved,
Colleagues find...It hard to believe,

Lack of remorse, absent support,
Pushes him, to obvious thoughts,
Attenion seeking, he was no more,
Discovered today, by local law,

Tears shed, guilt ridden hearts,
Talking history, picking him apart,
Realisation, lack of due care,
Former colleague...

Empty chair

  ----

Trying to find the words to explain the poem. The message is there. Think about your actions to those you see every day. The ones that annoy you, for their quirky behaviour. There is an untold story behind each of us. Some suffer in silence, some try to seek help. Compassion and understanding is within us all. The unseen illness is a killer.

Accelerated trauma
Starts my videotape
I replay it ten times over
Until my body breaks

The voices in the distance
Lost by a wall of sound
Distorted scenes crush me
Falling to the ground

Screaming out in fear
A fight before my eyes
Lashing out around me
Leads to my demise

Rapid breathing dissipates
Calmness fills the air
Tears break the silence
Fills me with despair

The dark storm receding
Carnage everywhere
Scattered lives around me
Damaged beyond repair

The door that rests
But fails to close
Holds open the fears
He cannot dispose

He tries to force it
And leave them behind
Yet the images leak
And poison his mind

His vision fails
In weeping eyes
His heart beating
Drowning all noise

Laboured and forced
Soaking of skin
The doors wide open
As trauma rushed in

Drowning on surface
Lungs contract
Invisible illness
Panic Attack

He sat by the fire and raised a glass
Mumbling words from his secret past
I watched him wipe some tears away
As he recalled their final days

As a curious child, I wondered why
My heroic father would sit and cry
Or scream out, from his soaked bed
Pleading to stop the noise in his head

We would hide away, each bonfire night,
In fear of the noise, the smoke and the light
He thought our home was under attack
Lost in the daze of a random flashback

As he grew old I understood why
This brave soldier would sit and cry
He lost his family not bound by blood
Witnessed things that no human should

Mental scars burned deep in his mind
From the devastation, he left behind
He was a prisoner of war every day
Locked in a memory…
...his mind would replay

Etched in his mind,
The internal war,
Haemorrhaging blood,
Hidden once more,

Slowly he’s dying,
His body too weak,
Paralysed lips,
Unable to speak,

Traumatic life,
Slipping away,
His heavy soul,
Aching today.

He witnessed it all,
The burden unseen,
Screaming their names,
Tortured in dream,

His cries settle,
His memory fades,
Wiping the tears,
For former comrades.

(Repeat)