"Cognitive Behavior Therapy"
By Anthony Roberts
Walk the middle path she says
so you do
Scanning both sides of the road
for trash and culverts where IEDs can be hidden
looking for ant trails where command wires are buried
you dismount from the safety of your truck
performing your 0-5-25 checks
scanning----------!
“Are you having a flashback right now?”
You’re in her office
that’s carpet under your feet
not dirt.
Your hands gripping the arms of the couch.
How do you tell her that even on the middle path,
you still worry about being blown up?
This poem is from The Clearing Barrel by Anthony Roberts, published by Blue Jade Press.
Anthony Roberts is a veteran of Baltimore and Afghanistan. He currently lives in New Jersey in a home with beautiful views and interlocking fields of fire.
Listen to our Savage Wonder episode with him here.
He is the author of the Pushcart Prize-nominated Pigtown and The Clearing Barrel.
You can follow him here.
Saturday May 24th: 7PM An Unhinged Reading of The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco.
Friday May 30th, 31st and June 1st: Comedy Weekend with Linnette Palladino.