I feel like I'm still over there.
I retired. It can't be true.
I survived then made sure,
that I came home, to you.
So why can I still feel
the pelting desert sand?
Why, when I reach out for you,
can I not feel your hand?
Why is the sun still blistering?
Why do I only see the night?
I'm afraid that I might never
see dawn's early light...
so afraid, that I will not see
the sunlight, kissing dew.
I'm afraid I'm in purgatory,
fighting, to get to you.
I feel like I am buried beneath
the life I lived before;
and I hope, at least, a piece of me
made it back from this war.
I hope my pain causes no hurting.
I beg you're grateful, I'd not died.
I pray that I'm not killing you
with how I struggle, to survive.
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.
Catch our interview with Michael J. Plunkett this week on the Savage Wonder Podcast.
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We are currently offering multiple dates for our online and in-person Playwriting for Veterans classes, and our Acting for Beginners class is now being offered weekly every Saturday from 10am-12pm. Scholarships for qualifying veterans, as well as multi-class passes are available. Registration details can be found here.
A real nice work, Mr. Burke. Done well.