returned servicemen and women
have many stories of horror
etched in their heads
their experiences in fields of conflict
never are erased
an indelible mark
is left for a lifetime

post traumatic stress
the nightmares and hell
play in their thoughts
they never leave
the war zone
behind

scars remain
that come to the surface
every now and then
these remnant pieces
telling of the horrors
over and over
again

a soldier departs
the stage of war
yet in his mind's corridors
a ghastliness lingers
within his core