3 Poems
by Matthew Borczon
Soldier's Return by William Hole
In 2010 I was in Helmand province Afghanistan, I worked 12 hour days followed by 12 hour nights with time to sleep in between. I was a new nurse and on my first deployment, sure I was going to make a difference, only the war makes the difference not the man. Since coming home I tried therapy, drugs, groups and any other thing I could think of to try to feel like the person I was before the war. Writing about it is the only thing that ever really helped. I was recently deployed to New York City to work in a makeshift hospital that reminded me too much of Bastion hospital, so it all starts rolling again. I write about war, PTSD, and sometimes even the slow progress I have made in the ten years since Afghanistan. These poems are about all of that.
Groceries
some days
the war
is a
big cart
of groceries
and I
am just
a paper
bag and
when everything
falls through
the ripped
out bottom
you only
worry about
what hits
the ground
and the
bag is
just the
thing that
failed you.
PTSD 28
My
friend
Paul
would
speed
up
anytime
a
cat
ran
in
front
of
his
car
laughing
hysterically
at
the
thought
of
killing
it
until
the
day
he
actually
did
it
and
I
found
him
later
drunk
and
crying
PTSD
means
sometimes
you
are
the
cat
and
sometimes
you
are
Paul
and
sometimes
you
are
the
road
and
the
only
thing
you
learn
from
all
these
roles
is
that
tears
don't
help
at
all.
A good pair of pants
They sent
me to
Afghanistan
with two
desert camo
uniforms
one was
always in
the laundry
so you
could change
out every
third day
it was
the only
thing I
wore the
whole time
I was
There
for the
first few
years after
I got
back I
left those
uniforms
in my
foot locker
in the
basement
but now
I put
the pants
on sometimes
just to
wear around
it's nice
to have
something
from the
war I
can take
off and
put away.
Matthew Borczon is a poet and Navy sailor from Erie, Pa. He has published thirteen books of poetry is publishes often in the small press. He works as a nurse for developmentally disabled adults as he finishes his Navy Career in the reserves. He is married with four children and a wife with infinite patience.
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