Why

I  myself have been diagnosed with PTSD or Post Trumatic Stress Disorder but not from any of my three honorable discharges but from an abusive relationship I was in. This is just one sad scenario of five that I have written. Though PTSD has been connected with combat veterans both men, woman have been diagnosed from abuse and trumatic incidents and children up to 98% in CPS have also been found to have PTSD. 

Why?

 

As the soldier stood there looking down 

at the enemy that he just fought, beat 

and threw to the ground he thought

where he come from it had happened so 

fast there was not even a sound

except for the ones that were in his own 

head the sounds from a war that had

served with honor but that is now over 

except for the memories' and the same 

one that he had saved all the lives of

his men making him a hero no not to all

but to some and as she lay there now

bleeding profusely everywhere from a

beating that she just had from a man 

that she had known, high school sweethearts

that she had married right before 

the war had begun, confused she looked 

up terrified so afraid to make even a sound

to this man her husband right above her but he

was not the same man that she kissed? 

and hugged while she cried before he left 

that came home, she remembered the 

wedding as she lay on the ground of their 

home bleeding out with tears flowing for

the man that just beat her down as he screamed 

in another language, she did not understand

he was screaming almost begging for her

stop and drop the weapon in her hand which

was only a knife she was using to cook the

dinner she was making for their third anniversary

and tell him about his child she was

carrying, she tried to tell him very nicely that 

he was the only one but anger and chaos 

was all that this man could understand you see

this man, soldier, husband, and father was 

now lost to a war in his own mind for he was only

still killing the enemy to save the others behind 

their own lines the war never ended for him or 

others, he is stuck there inside of himself and

diagnosed with what they now call PTSD 

with nowhere to run too and nowhere to hide

She never knew what had happened that 

very sad day, the one that she took a 

beating but never tried to hurt anyone,

the very same day that she had died she never 

knew what she ever did wrong 

she never did lie to him or anything at all

she only knew how much that she loves him

she only knew he was different after the war

with anger and sadness and nightmares, 

she tried everything she could

to help him that is one thing she did know, the

only word she could ask herself was why.

"WHY?" as she lay there bleeding looking 

up to the sky and as her eyes closed for

the very last time she whispered put with her

last breath "Please God help me just take me 

can you Just tell me what happened, please? 

tell me why?"

Why? That is what I am asking 

our government why? 

We send these men and 

woman to die in all Their made-up wars

to kill and to die for just the

almighty dollar and not

much more, I mean that we take them and train 

them to kill without a sound but they are still only 

children just turning eighteen like the video games 

that our small children have now found 

and then we bring them back after it is over

and they set them all free

fighting in the name of freedom

for you and me, yet they are homeless now

with nothing to eat fighting mental illness and

living on the street why?

I will ask you over and over why?

Why? 

To a government that 

ignores me and all our heroes of the war 

Why are the homeless? 

Why can you not house them? 

Why are they hungry?

Why can't you feed them?

Why do they hurt now?

I am talking about all the ones who fought 

for you all in freedoms name, you know the children

just eighteen who you taught to kill and now going

insane doing what they were trained for.

Why do you not help them like they did

for you Why will you not heal them after

they did what you asked them too and nothing 

more our heroes are dying by their own 

hands, why do they deserve this?

Why? Mr. President 

Why? Mr. House of Representatives

Why? Mr. Congresswomen 

WHY?

Poet Richard M Knittle Jr.

A Poets Journey

Texas Poet Laureate Nominee 2016-2020