"Burning Man (sans rave)"

By s.p. burke

Time marches on
and yet inside
I find it standing still.

Life moves along
a path defined
by circumstance, and will.

Echoes of a
less broken me,
in anticipation,

believed that they
might make a whole,
find some, restoration.

But here I sit
and here I pick
at charred remains of skin

I once ago,
believed myself,
wonted to burn within.

And now I find,
myself, so raw,
with frayed and firing nerves

adapting to
this life I chose,
and torment, I deserve.

---

s.p. burke is a recently retired intelligence analyst in the US Army. Follow him here. Listen to our Savage Wonder podcast episode with him here.

---

What’s happening at VetRep…

Listen to our latest episode with Dakota Silvey on the Savage Wonder Podcast, where we interview incredibly talented musicians, artists, writers, and theater professionals, who also happen to be veterans.