Wounds

[Phantom Blooper]

Purple Hearts are issued for
many wounds of war, but
none who served with valor,
came home completely whole.
No open wounds or missing limbs
but scars to soul and mind.
Wounds they carry secretly,
most till the day they die.

How could a son or husband
share with others what he felt?
Just keep it close and hidden
at least as best he could. Some
might note, a subtle change,
the angry words or stare; fitful
sleep, a cry at night, perhaps
a graying of the hair.

He tried the very best he could,
to fill the mold of someone, he no
longer was. Back to jobs or school
for most, desperate to fit in. For others
not so easy, booze or drugs and
living in the streets. Different men,
different worlds, but brothers,
joined by common grief.

Thirty odd years later, still makes
so little sense. Pain not so sharp now,
but still very, very real. Hidden wounds
have eased somewhat, but for some
have taken heavy toll. Many moved on with
hidden grief that most will never know.
Good, brave and valiant men, will have
no peace, till their very end


©Copyright December 2003 by George F. Holy

[MarineMom5]

Pain, both mental and physical, is handled differently by each individual. One can only hope that the individual has a support system around them. A support system that has a sensitivity to the pain, that can read the pain without fully understanding it or it's origins, help relieve the pain that has been internalized, help the individual in a positive way before it eats the spouse, sibling, child to the very core.