Dear Veteran

"Thank you for your service" feels too distant, insincere. The dry kiss of a politician and the muffled clap on your back. It wasn't service you gave. It was your life. Whatever invitations lay behind. Whatever rhetoric colors the narrative ahead. Your minutes, hours, days, months, years YOURS. your breath. And now your memories. Not all BAD. Some numb. Some overflowing with feelings. I don't want to romanticize or glorify. JUST LISTEN. Thank you for sharing.