Image: provided by Patricia’s Place
Waiting
Jack walked the streets at three
until a resounding boom of wheels in ruts
would send him marching ramrod home,
on fireworks night he would take cover
waiting for the shells to rain down.
©Paul Vincent Cannon
Note: I observed “Jack” many times but never got to know him, in one week he never got to the shops because the trucks would sound explosive when they hit a rut or drain cover and he would stop, stand to attention, wheel about, and march home again. Shell shock/PTSD had wrecked him.
Paul, pvcann.com
parallax 
too many suffer this, for many Vietnam Vets a chopper sets them off …
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Yes. I had a friend from nam experiences who flipped every time a twig was trod on.
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yes it can be smells too, just triggers that send them right back there …
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Yes, I had one friend decked his wife when she snuck up on him in the house one night!
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some wives are subjected to regular strangulation attempts …. it’s so scary for everyone!
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Absolutely
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Profound, Paul. ❤
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Sadly so, so many suffered, thank you so much.
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A sad truth, powerful!
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Yes, so many, thank you.
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You’re welcome. Wonderful message.
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🙂
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You distill e experience to it’s essence
Good job.
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Thank you, very encouraging indeed. Yes, this was based on observation.
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I have PTSD from a childhood of abuse, so I definitely relate to the veterans who suffer these things. I think about them every time this holiday rolls around.
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I used to love hearing my dad tell his war stories and I am glad that he survived WW2, or else I wouldn’t be here.
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Me too, and all the other wars, amazing self sacrifice, though not realised in the moment. Thank you.
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heart breaking. So tragic.
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Absolutely, sad.
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This really touched my heart.
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Wonderful to hear that, thank you for saying.
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May we and our loved ones live in times of peace.
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Yes to that.
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PTSD is horrid.
Btw I tagged you at the end of a cooperative poem for you to add your four lines.
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Thank you Ruth – I’m just off to bed dow2n here – will the lines wait?
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Yes
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🙂
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O, I had a look and replied anyway, That is a fascinating process and such fun.
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Profound and heartbreaking. The Jack’s, and Jill’s, of the world, are forgotten heroes and often treated as less than worthy of our attention and appreciation. Thank you for reminding us that our freedom is not free.
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Sadly so. Many WW1 vets that I met were indignant about the hoopla govt put on, instead wanting a simple acknowledgement of the needs they had post war. Yes, I believe there is no such thing as free freedom.
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Thank you for writing this! xox
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Thank you for saying that Lara/Trace.
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Great poem of a sad reality for some
>
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Too many
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This is heartbreaking. A sad fate the Vets had to face.
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Yes, a real messed up life.
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True.
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