Shell Shock, After Carlin
Carlin had it right, of course:
going from two syllables—
shell shock—
to eight with a hyphen,
post-traumatic stress disorder,
buried the pain under jargon.
Doctors agree.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
is a physiological response, deep
in the amygdala,
that persistently pricks
your fight or flight,
so good luck sleeping—
God help you when you’re awake.
Don’t take my word for it.
Ask the doctors at the VA.
They’ll say, Congratulations,
it’s complex.
Or look here,
at the clinical triad.
You don’t just have PTSD.
You have a traumatic brain injury
and chronic pain too.
See you next week.
It might also be
moral injury—
where you betrayed your sense
of right and wrong,
or someone else did,
or God did.