Trapped back where they watch their brothers and sisters die
On an endless loop
When their minds are now the enemy
And no one seems to want to help
From the VA to the people on the streets
That they sacrificed their minds and bodies to keep safe
At night when they watch the ceiling fan
Or hear a distant helicopter
They’re constantly reminded that they’re trapped
With no way out
Of the battle they left
But that rages inside their minds every single day
When 11% of them don’t have a home to call their own
And 56% among them struggle with substance abuse
But nobody wants to give them the help
They so clearly need
They just become another statistic
Another number among the 
“crazies” on the street corner
Another lamb to the slaughter
Some by their own hands
Some by burying their pain in the bottom of the bottle
Or with the track marks in their arms
Like a tally
Counting the days that they spend 
Trapped in their mind like a prison 
Guarded by the ghosts of their fallen brothers and sisters

© 2020 Alax Derby