Flashbacks

My answer to the very foolish line "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

Click.

It interrupted the noise,

The thunderous vibrations,

Cacophony of fit boys

All killing for their nations.

Click.

Just a second, even less,

Of metal on metal.

Then a boom and great mess

Of torn limbs and shrapnel.

BOOM.

He jumped out of his seat

And fell sprawled on the floor.

This old man with no feet,

And no legs anymore.

Pop.

Another balloon popped,

And after he calmed,

Scarred children had stopped,

Some ran to their Moms.

Weeping within himself,

In the kids’ party in the parlor,

He cursed whoever said

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.

Author's Note

This was written to be submitted to the contest What People Say. Enjoy.

Reviews

[Jgra]

I liked this alot. I've always thought the struggles of veterans after war were very overshadowed by the ones during the war. You did a very good job of using the clicks and booms to link the two situations. Good message, great poem don't know how you can improve it. This is in the top 2 or 3 poems i've read on this site (that's out of like 15 to 20)

[M. George]

I really like this... a hard-hitting poem about what it's like to live with PTSD, and how wrong it sometimes is to tell people that they're stronger from their awful experiences. The image of the old man "sprawled" across the floor at a children's party is particularly tragic, and I think the line "Weeping within himself" works particularly well by suggesting he doesn't (or can't) express these feelings inside of him, and so he suffers in silence. A very powerful poem. :)

[Alex]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!