Pain poured from my being, dripping from my fingertips like blood. Emotion scaled the walls and crept into my heart like a silent scream. My heart beat inside my mind, its pace quickening, and my senses heightened. My body felt the ache of the war that tore through me. I am still healing from the battles this world has ****** upon me. My body feels like a war zone. I gasp through the tremors of pain, night terrors clinging to my sheets. My jaw is tight from clenching; pain is a constant, and I am still here. I am still fighting.
-Rhia Clay
This poem is very personal to me. I have PTSD from my time in the military, and I wrote it recently to express the feeling of being triggered. The preparation for war, the experience of war itself, and all that occurs in between are not pretty. Military service and the invisible battles faced by those who serveโoften without the permission to show their strugglesโcan take a significant toll, with some paying the price for a lifetime. I do have many good days, but this poem was not written on one of them. Thank you for taking the time to read this note and my poem.