Post-traumatic stress disorder, aka PTSD, a condition that plagues and impacts lives, makes daily existence difficult as individuals grapple with its tense grip. Poems about PTSD delve into the haunting aftermath of trauma, offering poignant insights into the internal struggles that afflict those who suffer from it.
Any traumatic experience has the potential to lead to PTSD. These poems encompass Post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from a diverse array of traumatic experiences, including but not limited to the holocaust, wars, massacres, personal struggles, and more.
Through striking imagery and raw emotion, these poems offer a glimpse into the complexities of the human mind, portraying the lasting impact of traumatic experiences. They capture the distress of PTSD as nightmares suffocate individuals, flashbacks haunt relentlessly, and anxiety pervades daily life. Withal, they illuminate survivors’ journeys of healing and recovery, shedding light on the resilience of the human spirit.
‘The Survivor’ by Primo Levi depicts the disturbed mental state of a holocaust survivor as the survivor’s guilt haunts the speaker.
The poem's speaker has PTSD, and he talks to people from the past that haunt him. As a Holocaust survivor himself, Levi intimately understands the psychological scars left by such trauma. The speaker's anguished plea, 'Go back into your mist,' reveals the trauma of threatening memories and nightmares, underlining PTSD symptoms. The nightmares of fellow survivors' faces and the speaker's rejection of responsibility for his survival depict the emotional turmoil of PTSD. Survivor's guilt, evident in the speaker's protestation - 'It's not my fault if I live and breathe' is a common aspect of PTSD among those who have survived through harrowing events.
Once more he sees his companions' faces Livid in the first faint light, Gray with cement dust, Nebulous in the mist,
Sassoon’s ‘Repression of War Experience’ depicts a soldier whose attempt to repress his memories is manifesting itself in acute shellshock.
The poem portrays how soldiers are advised to repress their traumatic experiences to maintain their sanity. The speaker's attempts to distract himself from war-related thoughts or PTSD triggers through mundane activities reflect this repression. However, the persistent sound of guns triggers symptoms akin to PTSD, such as hypervigilance, intrusive memories, and emotional distress. Sassoon himself had PTSD, then termed 'shell shock,' during his service in WWI. His personal experience likely informs the illustration of war's mental toll, as evidenced by the speaker's descent into madness in the final lines, suggesting symptoms consistent with PTSD.
Yusef Komunyakaa’s prose poetry ‘Nude Interrogation’ captures the struggles of Vietnam War veterans after their return home.
The poem juxtaposes the speaker's past trauma and present intimacy. Through Angelica's probing questions, the poem delves into the guilt, trauma, and disconnection experienced by war veterans struggling to reconcile their wartime experiences with civilian life largely due to PTSD. The speaker's silence and eventual admission reflect common symptoms of PTSD, such as avoidance, dissociation, and emotional numbing. The fear of silence, the overwhelming night, and the persistent gaze toward the sky all signify the haunting trauma and enduring psychological scars of war.
Did you kill anyone over there? Angelica shifts her gaze from Janis Joplin poster to the Jimi Hendrix, lifting the pale muslin blouse over her head.
‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen is a poignant anti-war poem that exposes the harsh reality of World War I.
The poem, written in the past tense, suggests a retrospective reflection of the gory violence of warfare indicative of the impact of the war experiences on the speaker's psyche. His distress is evident as he describes the haunting image of the dying soldier he sees in all his dreams - 'He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning,' emphasizing the ongoing psychological turmoil induced by the combat memories. Moreover, the speaker calls his dreams 'smothering,' highlighting the extent of his suffering.
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
‘Insensibility’ by Wilfred Owen explores the psychological trauma and dehumanization experienced by soldiers during World War I.
Owen portrays how the brutality of war strips soldiers of their humanity, rendering them emotionally numb and desensitized. This notion of insensibility reflects a common symptom of PTSD, where individuals become detached from their emotions and surroundings as a coping mechanism against the horrors they've witnessed. Furthermore, the poem hints at the relationship between PTSD and aggression, as Owen describes soldiers who 'keep no check on Armies' decimation,' unaffected by the suffering around them.
‘Daddy’ by Sylvia Plath uses emotional, and sometimes, painful metaphors to depict the poet’s opinion of her father and other men in her life.
Symptoms of PTSD, such as intrusive memories and avoidance, are evident as the speaker grapples with the oppressive power her father holds over her psyche. The act of symbolically killing her father represents a therapeutic step towards breaking free from his control, akin to processing trauma in psychotherapy. The poem's conclusion signifies a symbolic victory over the father figure, marking a pivotal moment of liberation and the speaker's journey towards healing and moving forward with her life.
‘Never Shall I Forget’ by Elie Wiesel is a harrowing passage recounting his first night at the Birkenau concentration camp in Auschwitz.
The speaker, a holocaust survivor, exhibits symptoms of PTSD, such as intrusive memories and emotional numbness. The bone-chilling memories, including children transformed into smoke, underscore the extent of trauma and irreversible changes wrought by the holocaust on the speaker, including the loss of faith in God and humanity. These echoing, haunting experiences depict indelible marks of the holocaust on the psyche as survivors grapple with the aftermath of unimaginable suffering.
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long
night seven times sealed.
Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw
‘Apologia Pro Poemate Meo’ by Wilfred Owen defends a truthful portrayal of war in poetry, showing soldiers’ struggles and sacrifices.
The line 'I, too, have dropped off fear—' and the description of soldiers as being 'dead as my platoon' behind the barrage hints at their psychological toll due to death and destruction. Owen's portrayal of soldiers as victims of war's dehumanizing brutality and their struggle to maintain their humanity amidst the battle underscores the psychological trauma they endure, aligning with symptoms of PTSD such as detachment, emotional numbing, and dissociation.
I, too, saw God through mud—
The mud that cracked on cheeks when wretches smiled.
War brought more glory to their eyes than blood,
And gave their laughs more glee than shakes a child.
Audre Lorde’s ‘Hanging Fire’ explores a young girl’s perception of her body and life as she presents existential and mundane worries together.
The speaker's trauma seems to linger beneath the surface, emerging subtly amid mundane aspects of life. While the speaker grapples with typical adolescent concerns like appearance and relationships, there's an undercurrent of fear and vulnerability. The repeated line about the closed bedroom door hints at a deeper issue—perhaps a history of neglect or abandonment. The speaker's anxiety, uncertainty, and sense of overwhelm mirror the symptoms of PTSD.
Seamus Heaney’s ‘Casualty’ describes the death of one of the speaker’s acquaintances during Bloody Sunday of 1972 in Northern Ireland.
This poem shows the traumatic impact of a massacre, alluding to Bloody Sunday (1972). The invitation from the deceased to question the speaker again suggests lingering guilt and unresolved emotions, which could be interpreted as indicative of PTSD. The speaker's inability to attend the funeral and the recurring memories of the event may contribute to their emotional turmoil, reflecting the lasting effects of trauma on the human psyche.
‘Remains’ by Armitage explores a soldier’s trauma, showing how one moment in combat can echo endlessly in the mind.
This poem gives a powerful view of post-traumatic stress. The speaker tries to move on from what happened in combat, but the memory follows him everywhere. He sees it in his sleep, when he closes his eyes, and even in moments of silence. The poem clearly shows how PTSD can take hold of a person’s mind and body, and how even being far from the war does not guarantee peace, healing, or a sense of safety.
‘Tulips’ by Sylvia Plath is a personal and confessional poem exploring the poet’s mental state and innermost emotions.
The line 'And my history to the anesthetist and my body to surgeons' can signify either past baggage or a loss of control and identity, conveying PTSD symptoms such as disassociation and detachment. The speaker's longing for emptiness and freedom from past burdens reflects psychological trauma while leaving the past also gives identity crises, underlining the complexity of the human experience in the face of trauma.
The tulips are too excitable, it is winter here.
Look how white everything is, how quiet, how snowed-in.
I am learning peacefulness, lying by myself quietly
As the light lies on these white walls, this bed, these hands.
‘The Manhunt’ explores a woman’s journey to heal her partner’s war wounds, using metaphors for his physical and mental scars.
Although the poem never mentions this term directly, it strongly reflects the emotional signs of post-traumatic stress. The man is closed off, difficult to reach, and changed by his past. The speaker carefully uncovers the layers of his silence and physical damage, trying to get close to someone who now seems far away. The poem shows how PTSD can leave someone guarded, unable to express what they feel, even with someone they love deeply.
‘August 1945’ by Hayden Carruth takes the reader into a scene at the end of World War 2, as four soldiers come to terms with their experiences.
Although PTSD is not directly named, the way in which these men are behaving, and the way in which the poem discusses the things which they have experienced, suggests that they could be suffering from PTSD.
Sweating and greasy in the dovecote where one of them lived
four young men drank "buzzy" from canteen cups, the drink
made from warm beer mixed half-and-half with colorless Italian
distilled alcohol. A strange fierce taste like bees in the mouth.
Louise Glück’s ‘Gretel in Darkness’ is a revisionist feminist retelling of the classic fairy tale from Gretel’s perspective after she killed the witch.
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