The Other Side of the Door By Jessie Starr 8/12/2026 Write Together Wednesday’s From the eyes of a veteran. If I opened the door from the other side, what would I see? I’ll tell you what, it’s terrifying. There is no room for the worst parts of me, but, if I stepped inside and looked out, could I understand why every gap is filled? Could I see how you have come to be exactly where no one, not even me can reach? Looking out I see people who don’t see me, don’t see my fear, my pain, my shame, the burden of things I can never speak of, there is no relief. They don’t see the sleepless nights, alertness unyielding, or worse, sleep so deep there is no stirring from the horrors now released from the sleeping memory keepers containment. No one can know how deep the aches go, of the lost babies, of my own, the lost lives I fought and almost died for, the commitment I gave never returned, and the role now gone, left me with no honor. The needs upon my frail and battleshocked psyche are too great for anyone to truly stand beside me, cause I no longer can truly share the burden of anything more than what I carry. Loss so deep, so broad and so sweeping, there are no words to describe the grief residing in the empty spaces between me and everything. When I look out I don’t see an empty walk, an empty spot, cause no one I love comes to park there, so I fill all the spots around the block with cars for my upkeeping. I see and note the time, and gather the right keys to move them, always shuffling to be in compliance, maintaining the vehicular fortifications. When I look out I see the poverty, the pain, the streets taking their claim, and I have no way to stop the tides of these sweeping changes. I have no weapons, no orders, no permission, and yet I see the insurgencies of many motivating forces, stealing from us all, our innocence, our children, our communities, and our livelihoods. I see the tides of modern politics scouring away the government I once sweated and led others to die for. No I see what came of all that fighting and I can’t escape the ache… is that what we went to die for?