They say that time heals everything, but is that true when time is frozen?

A wound so deep inside of me, I swear my mind's been stolen.

As a loud bang goes off outside and I drop to the living room floor,

Attack! Attack! A sudden flashback, and now I'm back at war.

I'm covered head to toe in dirt with sweat dripping down my brow,

I'm choking on the clouded air, the ringing in my ears so loud.

I don't remember where I am, all I can think about is my mother,

I can't die here! I can't die now! I need to pull it together!

People screaming all around me, it's a sea of death and despair,

A body here, a hand over there, on the ground- blood everywhere.

Little did I realize as I watched the boy and his father,

The little boy with so much joy would be the suicide bomber.

I start to scream and start to cry as I remember what had happened,

It feels so vivid and so real, this new world of mine I'm trapped in.

I hear my mother say to me, "It's only just a flashback."

I remember now I'm at my house, and I'm safe just where I'm at.

It wasn't supposed to be this way, when I signed up for the Army,

They said I'd serve just four years- I'm mentally serving an eternity.

The wound I have inside my mind needs more than just some stitches,

This path so dark, where do I start, and can anyone actually fix this?

Broken systems in my mind cause flashbacks wherever I go,

What life was like before this mental fight, a distant memory I do not know.

I'm going to get a professional's help to gain back my control,

I'm still unsure if there's a cure to fill the piece of me war stole.

It doesn't matter where I go, everyone looks at me like I'm crazy,

They don't see the wounds affecting me, they don't see I have PTSD.

If there's one thing that I ask of you, its not to thank me for my service.

Instead I ask for your support and to spread PTSD awareness.