Cemetery of the Alleghenies

It has been said that " war is hell". Long after troops are with drawn and a war is declared over, the hell lives on in the minds of our returning soldiers and their families. On Veterans day we give tribute to those who paid the ultimate price for freedom and that is with their lives. Yet many times the horror that remains within those who actively served during war time is overlooked. War does not end simply by saying so, it haunts the living and those who never truly understand the evil that puts a nation on the defense. I am reminded by a simple statement made by a child " we are simply educated animals ." It is mind boggling when I think of how far we have come and not. That evil survives through hate, greed and ignorance and that we can replace an organ and create artificial knee's and hips yet we can't begin to work together as one unit in the name of Peace.
I am amazed when I look back on childhood and think how much a ten year old thinks about. I remember wanting to find a cure for mental health issues. To this day the brain is still a guarded secret, as much as we have learned about  DNA and the chemicals that control it , much is still unknown. What triggers flash backs? Sometimes a word, a memory or  a thought. Why is it that some humans have difficulty of letting go of the negative? Many times it is those whose heart or emotions conflict with the minds thought. I hope that people begin to see not only the physical wounds that are contributed by war, but the mental wounds that for some may never heal.

The Cost of Freedom

It is true that many died,
so that we may live in peace.
Battles won and battles lost,
and days laced with defeat.

Some look at the cost as
a monetary loss, but life is
so darn precious each soul
to our hearts embossed.