Too Heavy to Keep.

In a little while 

they will come 

bringing their wounds 

and tiredness,

keeping their silences 

to themselves,

clutching their faiths 

and prayers,

understanding 

the limitless wrongs 

of the battles fought,

pushing to the back 

of their minds,

sights seen 

(if they can)

some cannot,

and return 

as brain wounded 

man to man,

haunted in their troubled sleep 

by the secrets 

too heavy to keep.

Reviews

[Broken.buddy]

You’ve captured the trauma of war without ever showing a battlefield — and that’s what makes it so powerful. The sparseness of the language, the fragmentary structure, and the subdued tone all mirror the emotional state of those returning from conflict.

I especially felt the weight of lines like “sights seen (if they can)” and “secrets too heavy to keep.” You’ve articulated the kind of internal burden that is so often overlooked in stories about war. I quite like the uneven structuring, makes it feel more real as if its a whisper than a poem, Thank you for writing this

[Terry Collett]

Thank you for your deep read and comments