At What Cost

Been thinking a lot of late about the cost of service, the sacrifice, be it medical, fire, police and military. Read a few clinical articles in the week in JEMS, on PTSD and how services don’t deal with it, and reread an article I wrote awhile back and the article I quoted.


the price you pay

come so far

waited so long

worked so hard

only to be in a dream

heaven or hell

it always changes



dark holds the light at bay

the more you give

the more they take

the more they live

the more you die

stand firm

fight for the price you've paid



pay in blood

sometimes your own

some cease feeling

for themselves or others

teases and the doubts

solved by being

uncomfortably numb

made it back home

but how?



checking out is possible

but you can never leave

you can't walk away

from the price you pay

nothing more wretched

than what must be endured

been through hell

is it all worth it?

© 2017 michael d emmerich

Image © 2011-2017 DanSun PhotoArt – www.dansunphotos.com

One thought on “At What Cost

  1. Pingback: EMS – You Can Never Leave | mikesnexus

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