Mary E. Rogers

MY TIME IN HELL

Veterans have their brothers understanding
No words need ever be said
They’ve all seen the same horrors
And carry the memories inside their head

I have no memories of battlefields
I’ve never seen a soldier fall
So why do I have these nightmares
I didn’t serve with the men listed on The Wall

My nightmares are of wild starring eyes
Of screams echoing in the night
Of hands that want to kill me
‘Cause I’m the enemy you have to fight

I can’t stop these awful nightmares
No more than you who walked in hell
I don’t have a brother who understands
There’s nobody that I can tell

My soldier has long been gone
Released from his PTSD
I still hear the screams in the night
And the memories still torture me

It happened so very long ago
Get on with your life they say:
How the hell am I supposed to forget
When the nightmares won’t go away?

Do I have to wait for the angels
To come for me as they did you?
Can’t I find peace while I’m living
Or must I wait for Heaven too?