PTSD Poem

Hi all

Over the past few months I've been putting pen to paper and trying to record through poetry how PTSD has affected me. I've entered several pieces in the upcoming MIFQ art exhibition to be held in May. The following however is not one that I've put in for exhibition so I thought I'd share it online here for the first time.

Regards - Keith

Always in the shadows

Lurking in the shadows

In the spaces of my mind

Are the memories of the traumas

I thought I’d left behind.

Where nightmares are my reality

A solitary confinement I’m locked inside

Where the PTSD is stalking me

And there is no place to hide

Where the demons of my past

Have found a cosy place to dwell

Coming out and confronting me

Aroused by sight, or sound, or smell

Where simple tasks like shopping

Or even getting out of bed

Seem almost insurmountable

Because of monsters in my head

Where anxiety is always there

And sends my emotions reeling

Where breaking down and crying

Is the only thing I’m feeling

Where loud or sudden noises

Like the slamming of the door

Will have my heart rate racing

Or have me curled up on the floor

Where I can’t remember little things

When I walk into a room

When someone tells me something

That I’ve forgotten all too soon

Where I can’t control my anger

Where the rage will not subside

And I sit alone with my thoughts

Contemplating suicide

The soul destroying misery

The endless torment and despair

And succumbing to its burden

Is an ever present fear

Just like you I’m only human

But my mind’s a complex mess

And I’m scared I’ll be defeated

By my Post-Traumatic Stress