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bouts of anxiety and depression.  I found that it had become increasingly difficult to cope with stressful situations and the difficulty in sleeping, that I was again experiencing.  I had had some counseling, a few years ago.  As a result of that, I was now taking some medications to relax my mind from the flood of thoughts that raced through my mind each night.  The medication alone seemed to help for a while, but then the turmoil began again; and I felt the need to talk with someone who understood.  That was when I met Judy, one the counselors at the Vet Center in Yakima.

Judy told me that I may be suffering from the very ominous sounding ailment, post traumatic stress disorder, almost affectionately known as PTSD.  As we had discussed in some detail, it was pretty common among former military personnel, who had been in combat situations.  It was good to discover that I was not alone in having those feelings of anxiety; and I was not really losing my mind.

I told her about the poems that I had written.  She had earlier shared with me portions of a book, which her friend had written concerning his Vietnam experience, his PTSD, and his reflections upon it today.  After she shared that with me, I wrote the poems.  I had some occupational experience, in writing technical papers. I felt, that I was pretty good at it; however, I had never thought of myself as a poet.  Never, before, had I ever written a poem of any significance, but, as I sat down to writes, that is how my thoughts seemed to flow out.

So, I went with it, and wrote the poems.  I took out my copies of the two poems and I showed them to Judy.  I thought that it would be a good way to provide her with an update on my feelings in order to get my counseling started, again.  She began reading quietly.  She nodded occasionally, but she made no comment.  She completed the first poem, “The Listening Post”; and, again with no comment, she began reading the second poem, “The Listening Post – Today.”

Then she put them down.  She looked at me, as if only then, she understood.  "Let’s talk about that night.”  At that point, I think my counseling therapy really began, as I began to share with her my experiences in Vietnam, my life before, and, now, my emotions and recollections today.