Forged in a fire of brotherhood and violence;
Branded and tempered,
you are  called to service.

You step to the front;
relinquishing your home
and dawning the armor of duty and honor.

You feel your heart beat and you know that the tempo does not belong to you.
Your very breath contracted to the country to which you offer your allegiance and life.
Who casts you forth to a world that neither knows or cares who you are.

Who will remember you when this is done?
Who will know what happened here?
You are a piece of a whole;
Parts welded together by the hell that burned you up together and molded soldiers out of the ashes.

And as you kneel before the field of battle;
You take courage in the boots beside you.
You pray because you know that the ultimate sacrifice is not always made by the soldiers who die.

19 OCT 2020

Kymie

Course and corrupted,
Words escape us.
Broken silence,
Consumes our years.

I can’t find you.
The song is fading.
Courageous beauty
Protected tears.

Children crying,
Lonely dreams.
Understanding,
Helpless fear.

They grow up,
Without you watching.
They move on,
Without you here.

Abandoned hopes,
Issued orders.
Hopeless training,
Foolish prize.

We wait for you,
Always stable.
Unwavering duty,
Bitter lies.

Each moment perfect,
But never present.
Each measure met,
Yet memory lost.

And one day soon ,
When release becomes us,
I will show you
what this life has cost.


-KYMIE
13 NOV 2020

Brothers by bloodshed.
Family in truth.
With chains forged of trauma and war,
the knowledge of pain binds us in our loyalty.

Buried scars left unseen
Covered by smiles woven by unhealed wounds and broken souls.
Hollowed by the duty that compels us to hide,
We seek solitude when we should seek friendship -
because our training has molded sacrifice into our very flesh.

As we consider the wisdom to fight
and conjure the courage to keep breathing,
Your peace is our only consolation.
Our memories of you become our armor -
shielding us from the demons that brought you to your knees.

We wage this never ending war as one.
We stand with you knowing
That you did not lose this battle.
We fight on in your name
because, broken or not,
Our brothers never fight alone.

- Kymie
28 OCT 2020

The fire overwhelms you before you can defend yourself.
Each breath is fuel inhaled into your center and flowing out to the inferno.

It’s something small to anyone else-
To anyone who is whole.
But to you - broken and trapped behind a wall of trauma - it is all you can see.

You see she is hurting, but you can’t stop.
You can’t accept her love right now.
There is no room in this blaze.
So you lash out to keep her away.
You hurt her so she doesn’t burn up in your fury.

But she won’t go away.
She is making it worse.
How can she not see that you can’t be saved?
Why won’t she give up? Stop making you hurt her?

Can’t she see that you want to keep her behind your wall with you?
Doesn’t she know she will wither and die in the heat of your wrath?

But she won’t go away. She stays close. She’s crying from the pain as you explode and are engulfed by the flames. She cries out to you and takes your hand and you know this is agony for her. You try to push her off but she will not let go. You scream together as you burn up in the very force that makes you hate everything that you are.

As the embers die and the smoke wraps you in the remaining turmoil, you can’t bare to open your eyes and look at the destruction around you. You know you have lost her. And you know you have destroyed everything that matters to you.

You are stuck in your head until you feel her hand on your face. You breathe in her scent and try to imagine a world where you can have her - where you can keep such a creature close to you - to stand with you- to love you.

You open your eyes to find her looking at you. Waiting for you to accept her. You see that you are okay - that you are still here and so is she. And you find yourself not asking why she is still by your side, but wondering how you ever survived without her?

Kymie

4 NOV 2020

The living sanctuary.
A corporeal embodiment of love.
Hope for the sinner
Safety for the fearful.

A place to keep and surround
Loving arms
Little footsteps
Sunday breakfasts
Kisses in the laundry room
Showers before bed

Protect this fortress of treasures
Each one different
Unique to the maker
For the den is dangerous
but not to the lion.

31 OCT 2020

Kymie