Darker Sights that Blight the Soul

Truly, it can take its toll

Dark sights
Restless nights
Forlorn thoughts
Black and white
Is beholden to grey
No wrong or right
Might makes right
Plight of human rights
Amorality
A world driven by fear
Degradation of dignity
Cheapens human life
A world that doesn’t care
Monsters hidden in plain sight

Darker sights, deep abyss
Dreaming of swimming in the light
Like a long-forgotten truth
I hope you never see the world
As I do

If only one truth
It can be a beautiful place too
Thoughts I dream true
Sights that darken heart
Blight the soul
Forgotten beauty
Thoughts on the heart
Takes its toll

Hope, however, rides
In the blackest nights
The soul can shine most bright

_____________________________

Ryan Mimna lives in Philadelphia and works in the finance industry. He served in the U.S. Army from 2011 to 2015 and, after completing the Ranger pipeline, served with 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, including multiple tours in Afghanistan. After leaving the Army, he finished a bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he began writing and later turned toward poetry. For The Havok Journal, he writes reflective pieces and poetry, often centered on fear, meaning, and the inner 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.