“What We Carry in Silence”
***
There are things we talk about —
the weather,
our kit,
the food,
the daft things that happened
out on exercise.
And then there are the things
we don’t.
The fear.
The doubt.
The moments that shook us.
The faces we still see
when the room goes quiet.
We don’t say them out loud
because we don’t need to.
The lads already know.
A nod,
a look,
a hand on the shoulder —
that’s enough.
Words are for civvies.
We deal in silence,
shared understanding,
and the unspoken truth
that we’d go through it all again
for each other.
The only words that matter are—
For each other.
Apr 30
Apr 30, 2026 at 3:52 AM UTC
“What We Carry in Silence”
***
There are things we talk about —
the weather,
our kit,
the food,
the daft things that happened
out on exercise.
And then there are the things
we don’t.
The fear.
The doubt.
The moments that shook us.
The faces we still see
when the room goes quiet.
We don’t say them out loud
because we don’t need to.
The lads already know.
A nod,
a look,
a hand on the shoulder —
that’s enough.
Words are for civvies.
We deal in silence,
shared understanding,
and the unspoken truth
that we’d go through it all again
for each other.
The only words that matter are—
For each other.
My poem explores the quiet bond between those who have shared hardship—where words often fall short, and understanding lives in gestures, glances, and silence. It reflects the unspoken weight carried by many who serve, and the strength found not in speaking, but in knowing someone else already understands.
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