PTSD Paperwork

by Ron Riekki

Statement in support of claim of
death. The downloadable pdf
is available for your headaches.
Related forms include suicidal
ideation and learning how to cope
with cutting. If you are not en-
rolled in a current divorce pro-
ceding, you can go directly to
the waiting room. Mental health
services include waiting and more
paperwork. When you are doing
the paperwork, you can work in
breaks of waiting and while you
are waiting, you will be able to
stare at other vets who are also
waiting. The waiting rooms will
be bland, but have strong hints
of past traumas if you look
closely or smell weakly or think
unclearly or touch anything.


A color photo of a book cover with water and mountain landscape. The book is called My Ancestors Are Reindeer Herders and I am Melting in Extinction

Ron Riekki’s books include My Ancestors are Reindeer Herders and I Am Melting in Extinction (Apprentice House Press), Posttraumatic (Hoot ‘n’ Waddle), and U.P. (Ghost Road Press). About “PTSD Paperwork,” he writes, “I wrote this poem after being confronted by a statistic that veterans have a suicide rate 50% higher than those who did not serve in the military.”

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The Poem Writes Itself