Twenty-Two Vets

     Everyday, there are twenty-two fatalities related to military service in defense of our country. Not on the battlefield nor even necessarily on active duty. Every sixty-five minutes a veteran takes their own life. That is a staggering statistic. We need better care for our veterans and we need it soon! We have visiting nurses for the sick, why not visitors for veterans? Before we discharge them back into a society, that is 180°’s from which they have become accustomed, an indoctrination back to civilian life should be offered along with a “buddy” support group. Sometimes all it takes is the sound of an understanding voice to take the edge off a critical situation.

     Please thank  a veteran today, but if you can, visit one who might really appreciate the company.

    Jake.

To all who have passed
I salute you.

TWENTY-TWO VETS

Twenty-two vets

will die today

but not in a war fought

far away.

No, they’ll not perish

amid battle’s din,

for them the enemy

lies within.

Every sixty minutes

plus another five

another hero

does not survive.

And that fact alone

should give us pause,

because for most,

we know the cause.

They are in of need help

so desperately

yet too quickly

they’re set free.

Oh, they’ll try to adapt

and live like us all

but the scars of war

live in their recall.

And those demons will drive them

to the last,

until all their thoughts

are of the past.

When until those thoughts

become a living dream

and they can bear no more

their demon’s scream.

Twenty-two two vets

will die today

by their own hand

and not far away.

Yes, twenty-two heroes

will be laid to rest.

Let us pray each tomorrow,

there will be one less.

***

Jack Downing

Nov. 11, 2014

Copyright© Jack Downing, aka Jake @poemsandponderings.wordpress.com. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted or disseminated in any manner without the expressed, written consent of the author. JRD.

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