NaPoWriMo Day 29 – After the Sirens, After the Years

When the Sirens Fade and Silence Speaks The clock turns, but it never truly resets. It only folds time—past into present, memory into breath. Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt draws inspiration from Jennifer Moxley and her poem After Turning the Clocks Back, where the present moment is …

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The Quiet After the Call

There’s a silence most people never hear.
It’s not peace—it’s the sound after the sirens, when the adrenaline fades and the ghosts start talking.
After years in the military, fire service, and EMS, I came to know that silence too well. It isn’t quiet. It’s noise turned inward.
In that space, the heart races, the mind replays trauma, and the spirit aches under the weight of it all.
Crowded rooms became unbearable. Joy felt dangerous. And I couldn’t sit still without my hands shaking.
But healing began when I finally stopped running and listened to that silence. I learned to name the things I feared. I started writing again.
This memoir, The Quiet After the Sirens, is a testament to survival—not just in the field, but in the stillness that follows.
It’s about carrying the weight, honoring the ghosts, and learning how to breathe again.
If you’ve ever known that kind of silence, this story is for you too.

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