Roads

by Daniel Clancy

My mind is still a dangerous place 
Stuck in my thoughts as they race 

Haunted by the dead with no face
Learning to live again at my own pace 

Wandering down the same old roads
Still carrying these heavy loads

Every twist and turn my head explodes
All alone as my hope erodes

Searching for meaning to my life
Every bridge I cross is full of strife

Depression still cuts like a dull knife
Married to this burden it’s my wife 

I’ve mapped a few corrections
I finally beat my mirrors reflections 

I have rewired these broken connections
I was never lost I just needed new direction 

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In his upcoming book, The Rose That Grew From Sand, Daniel Clancy, a retired Marine Corps and Army infantryman with over 20 years of service, offers a raw and unflinching look at war. Through stark and visceral poetry, he captures the violence of the battlefield and the deeper battles soldiers face when they come home—grappling with PTSD, mental health struggles, and the difficult readjustment to civilian life.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.