Price of Survival (poem)

Memory of war
paints the window,
blocking the light
and muffling my voice,
isolating me
in this little dark room.

My soul was ripped and wounded
by the same bullets
that pierced my body.
Scar tissue stays always tender
and pain is never far away.

I survive,
and in survival find strength,
but knowledge creates a barrier,
a perimeter stronger than concertina and trip flares,
you cannot cross.

—Ken Sauvage