Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Poems | Examples

Gesture of Love

I grew to fear my dad
            he’d often beat me for the slightest thing.
A damaged, drunken man, he was close to going mad,
a tyrant and bully, in his house, he was king.

                        I remember the day we met
I was three when he returned home, a war vet,
smelling of stale beer and the stench of a cigarette.

      Back then, the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder were unknown
            soldiers simply dealt with it on their own,
                        and men’s hearts hardened like stone.

All those years lost to an illness make me sad,
           yet I decided long ago to forgive him for everything,
      rationalizing what took forever to forget,
                        though no gesture of love was ever shown.


Fragmented Spaces


7/21/2021


Writing Prompt - Fragmented Spaces Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Constance La France
(118 Words)