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Onslaught

Finally home, cheers, hugs, kisses abound
My head throbs, but the fierce rage I contain
On hair-trigger alert, my inner storm starts to pound
As a good soldier, I've learned to take the pain
Family and friends are strangers somehow
Their laughter and words sound rehearsed and staged
Their eyes betray fear of who I am now
In their lives I can no longer be engaged
I flinch when car lights flash and horns sound
With dread, all night I pace the floor
Sunrise, I depart, Greyhound station bound
Too lost to be found, I've no home anymore

Written 9/14/22
Pick-A-Title, Vol 32 - Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
"ONSLAUGHT"

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Edward Ibeh Date: 10/17/2022 4:03:00 PM Amazing piece, Robert:-) Heartiest congratulations on your win in my contest! Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 10/18/2022 10:28:00 AM Thank you, Edward for the honorable mention, and thank you for your service! Robert

I Am Anaya Date: 10/15/2022 8:46:00 AM Congratulations on your Honorable Mention Robert! Such a touching story of the traumas linked to war. Anaya Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 10/18/2022 10:30:00 AM Appreciate your empathetic comment Anaya! Robert

Andrea Dietrich Date: 10/3/2022 10:36:00 AM Just read what you said to Pangie. Thanks for your service! Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 10/3/2022 1:40:00 PM Thank you, Andrea! Robert

Andrea Dietrich Date: 10/3/2022 10:35:00 AM Yes, this is a good portrayal of what happens to some soldiers. So realistic that I have to wonder if you were in the service. Well done. Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 10/3/2022 1:39:00 PM So much trauma is hidden deep under the surface, and only visible when it's too late to help. Thank you, Andrea! Robert

Panagiota Romios Date: 9/30/2022 5:24:00 AM Very touching. I can understand this because I have seen movies with Denzel Washington about being in war. And the devastation to people like you. People do not understand, war is sometimes necessary. Don’t people understand, that without WW1 and WW#2, All of Europe would be Fascist! Don’t people remember Pearl Harbor? Bless you for service, your courage, dear poet! Don’t they remember 9/11? I think not. Panagiota xx Login to Reply Panagiota Romios Date: 10/3/2022 2:07:00 PM Thank you for your clarification, Robert. Pangie Robert Gorelick Date: 9/30/2022 7:57:00 AM I was in the service although I never saw combat, my poem relates to a friend who came back from Vietnam destroyed in mind and spirit. Thank you, Panagiota for your visit!

Valsa George Date: 9/29/2022 8:53:00 PM It is such a miserable feeling ! After a period of being away from home, when one returns, instead of hugs and rejoicing, if a cold shoulder is shown, it is so depressing !A soldier undergoes so much trauma. He expects some love from his family and if it is not got, that upsets his mental balance. Powerful poem, dear Robert! Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 9/30/2022 7:56:00 AM I was in the service although I never saw combat, my poem relates to a friend who came back from Vietnam destroyed in mind and spirit. Thank you, Valsa for your visit!

Becky Forbes Date: 9/28/2022 7:21:00 PM WOW! Straight to the heart of the unseen effects of the bombs. Thank you for this perspective!! Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 9/30/2022 7:55:00 AM I was in the service although I never saw combat, my poem relates to a friend who came back from Vietnam destroyed in mind and spirit. Thank you, Becky for your visit!

Michael Tor Date: 9/16/2022 5:26:00 AM Robert so much you have shared is the absolute truth. This is the result of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder you describe that affects many who have gone to war. It is sad that we have to engage in such devastating causes. When reading this It reminded me of a Youtube channel called Stranger Than Fiction where the truth is shared in the reasons wars are started. It is a part of history that is not shared. I encourage you to watch the videos. Your depiction of a soldiers return to society... Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 9/30/2022 7:54:00 AM I was in the service although I never saw combat, my poem relates to a friend who came back from Vietnam destroyed in mind and spirit. Thank you, Michael for your visit! Michael Tor Date: 9/16/2022 5:33:00 AM is remarkable and is a fact of life as you so eloquently have shared. The ending " I've no home anymore." When I read I thought of first the soldiers way of not relating to society because the pain he has gone through and also how many Veterans have mental issues form the war, it robs them of their emotions and leaves them in so much turmoil they become homeless and therefore not have a home. Excellent Poetry Robert best wishes for the contest...

Elizabeth Mccann Date: 9/15/2022 3:39:00 AM The debt we owe these men can never be totally repaid. We must do our best to help them and to keep from adding to their number in future conflict. Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 9/15/2022 4:35:00 PM Absolutely. We must also be thoroughly aware of the ravages of war, before we commit troops into battle.

Victor Buhagiar Date: 9/15/2022 1:13:00 AM War never solves anything. Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 9/15/2022 4:32:00 PM You are right. We need to find an alternative solution, but I don't know what it is.

Harry Horsman Date: 9/14/2022 10:43:00 PM The wrath of war effects the winners and the losers, being a war child 1943, my father gassed in Egypt, never spoke of it, neither did any of the men in my village..I understand completely the sentiment here in this, a wonderful well written and true poetry Robert...Yes it brings back so many memories. Login to Reply Robert Gorelick Date: 9/15/2022 4:43:00 PM Your father must have served in the British Army-- fighting Rommel. It was a tremendous victory over Hitler, and you should be very proud of him. I realize that in your father's time, returning soldiers rarely talked about combat and how it affected them. All so painful and tragic. Thank you, Harry. Robert