War Story • The Havok Journal

This found poem was composed from portions of Neville Johnson’s works, originally published in “Sangin: Then and Now” with Dead Reckoning Collective in 2022.

I stand amongst these mountains
No birds chirping, singing their song
The sounds of nature silenced
Calm before the storm

High on coffee
Low on life
Attempting to focus on something else
Hiding my cries
My tired eyes
Waiting, knowing its imminent

Close call incoming

As the sound of guns began to be heard, I hear these enemies
These fuckers!
They’re not giving up, not backing down
We keep on fighting

Ready, finger on the trigger
I’m up, I’m moving
Running for cover
Tracers lighting the dawn

The enemy greeted us with shrapnel
A volley of thunder and hell
Raging in, raining down
I hear them fall, hitting the earth with a thud

The music of war filled the air
The endless pounding
By these bombs
My heart pumps, racing hard
And embraced each dying moment

This moment doesn’t last

The valley fell into a deep sleep when the guns fell silent
An uncomfortable ghostly consciousness filled the air we breathed
Breathing deep, filling my lungs
I realize I made it

Mission over, mission done
I gaze into nothing
I gave a piece of me away
That day
In the Graveyard of Empires

Imprinted in my mind
Broken mind, body, and soul
Forever changed, never the same
Take me home
My war is over

Sgt. Julie Nicholson, Female Engagement Team leader, Marine Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, works with infantry units and coalitions forces to work with Afghan women throughout Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Nicholson is on her second combat tour here and searches women and children for contraband during missions. February 8, 2012. Photo: Sgt. Frank Thompson (DVIDS)

________________________

Lori Butierriesis a full-time caregiver to two children with disabilities. She uses her life experiences and the medical knowledge she gained from serving as a Hospital Corpsman in the United States Navy to help others facing similar hardships. Lori is an author for The Havok Journal, an official columnist for AwareNow Magazine, and a contributor to The Mighty. Likewise, other news sites like MSN and Yahoo! News have also republished select articles Lori has written.

Lori’s writing extends to children’s literature. Her debut picture book, GIFT FROM GOD, was self-published at the beginning of 2021 and placed as a finalist in two categories in the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Lori’s long-term goals are to use her writing to educate others about, advocate for, and dismantle negative stereotypes regarding disability, mental health, and the military/veteran community.

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.