They come back to no fanfare

No parades

No cheering crowds

No ticker tape

Forgotten but for the relief of  their loved ones

Scars are not always etched in blood

So cuts are unseen and more debilitating to the flesh

They hide all they have seen and heard

The things that changed them

Smiling as they always do

Cordial though their language has become harsher

Colored with the profanity perfected through months living in squalor

They do not talk in details as they prefer to forget

Driving the pain and memories deep below consciousness

They pray them never to return

Their minds standing strong in defense of sanity

What do we say to them

What do we do for them

I’ve asked myself this a thousand times

Hold their hands

Embrace them

Love them more than you have ever loved them

Comfort them when they cry

Reassure them when they flinch

Hold them tight when dreams shatter their sleep

They are not who you knew before

Their lives have been forever changed

Engendered through terror and courage in the face of unknown enemies

We must be there for them

This is all I or anyone can do

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~