Coming Home From War

I came home with dust inside my bags

A folded flag and throat full of smoke

The hallway knows the shape of my boots

But i still wake reaching for someone to move

Every window turns into a warning

Every quiet room keeps me on guard

You touch my shoulder, I come back fighting

Then I see the hurt I left in your arms

I’m still here, though the night keeps calling

Still learning how to lay my weapon down

If my anger is a door slammed open

Your steady hands can lead me out

I can’t erase the places I remember

But I can choose what happens now

I’m still here, love, still here

And I’m trying to come home somehow

Our little girl asks why I don’t sleep

I count the cracks while she counts sheep

You leave a glass of water by the bed

And wait until the shaking leaves my hands

Some mornings I mistake the kitchen

For a road where anything could break

You say my name without surrender

And I remember there is more to save

I’m still here, though the night keeps calling

Still learning how to lay my weapon down

If my anger is a door slammed open

Your steady hands can lead me out

I can’t erase the places I remember

But I can choose what happens now

I’m still here, love, still here

And I’m trying to come home somehow

I’ll tell the truth when the fear gets loud

I’ll find a room where I can say it out loud

I’ll let the ones who love me stand near

No more carrying the whole war in here

I’m still here, and the night is fading

Not because the memories disappeared

But because your hand is in my hand now

And I’m learning I am safe when you are near

I can’t rewrite the lives behind me

But I can give this life a chance

I’m still here, love, still here

Take my heart and help me understand

The morning comes through the bedroom blinds

I breathe in slow, you breathe in time

No medals, no marching, no need to pretend

Just your arms, this house, and a chance to mend