You can thank liquor and loud music for this one. Here’s a somewhat “light” poem for you all. It’s called Trenches. It’s about dealing with PTSD. A condition that can surprisingly be caused by trauma not related to being in the military. However, I liked using the military analogy with this poem.
TRENCHES
Lived my whole life in a trench,
Battered armor sliding off,
Euphoria slowly slips in,
Drag that bottle to my lips,
The light bursts through,
Forget the names of my demons,
The smoke begins to fade,
Is that the sun that I never see?
Another sip as I take it all off,
Toss the helmet against the wall,
A soldier you never knew,
Saw a different kind of war,
One that no one believed,
The trauma won’t beat me,
Can’t you see?
The survivor in the trench?
The battered wounds,
A heart-wrenching shadow,
The trench is all I’ve ever known,
I wish I couldn’t feel anything,
Memories plague me,
Haunting everything,
Will I ever be free?
The demons feed off my dreams,
Draining everyday,
Take a sip, it’ll be okay,
Just need to breathe,
It’s harder than I thought,
I’ve lost a lot,
Lost the innocence,
Wanted to be dead,
Holes that never healed,
It’s like I’m a ticking time bomb,
Will I ever learn?
The writing is on the wall,
You could never do what I do,
Staying alive when everything is wilted,
It’s a tragedy that no one sees,
Just a shadow in the trenches,
Welding more armor to face this bloodbath,
Alone for years,
I just can’t see,
How to trust anyone again,
Should I tell my friends?
Oh, wait, what friends?
Alone is safer,
Ignore the need for connections,
Hide the rare smiles,
Not letting anyone in,
Because this armor is the only thing saving me,
Forever living in trenches,
Hiding from you,
Don’t want to be seen.
