Time and again,
without regard except for the pain
his first thought might be his last
into the line of the fire he runs,
the kid he was is the past
a job without end
never seeing the danger,
only hearing the screams of his friends
and the silence of the dead
time and again

Time and again,
Without his touch,
without his aid
this might be their last day
he is the “Doc”,
he is the first to volunteer
the last to tire
never to flag or to fail,
without question, without ire
only to come up short
against that which assails
time and again

Time and again,
he tries to drag them back from the brink
sometimes against their will
regardless of the trauma
without thought of the ill
he does his best
time and again

Time and again,
he goes without thanks,
his sleep is just a tormented time
he tried to kill the dreams with a drink
like a stone dropping in a hole
he feels his heart sink
a black pit where once resided his innocence
now there is a pain which is a sardonic recompense
time and again

Time and again,
her touch is all that will sooth a tortured soul
she doesn’t belittle his screams in the night,
she doesn’t question his feelings for her
or his dedication to his fellow man
he’s proven both
time and again

“Time and Again”- Stephen L. Richey, CRT, EMT-I/D

i've read this over and over, not because it doesn't make sense, but because it's so impacting.
it took me a while to take it all in, for my mind to give the words their own breath.

i really like it, because of that.

Thanks....that means a lot. I have post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of some things I witnessed while working as an EMT and as a firefighter, so this is one of my ways of trying to come to terms with it. I'm glad you like it.