by Tom Puetz | Nov 11, 2022 | Poetry
More Than Flowers I heard it firstThe hummingbirdThen saw it Backlit by the setting sun it hoveredSnatching insects from the airMy hardened heart thus openedIt’s message given and received Shattered souls and hummingbirdsMore than flowers need © Tom Puetz... 
by Tom Puetz | May 11, 2022 | Food for thought
Thomas Jefferson would say I’m in charge of my own wellbeing. I gladly accept help from family, friends, community and the United States government, but if I give them control over my mental health I also give up the key ingredient of recovering from PTSD. That... 
by Tom Puetz | Jun 4, 2015 | Costs of War
My life was once defined by violence. My experience as an infantry sergeant in the Vietnam War has blessed me with the belief that It is not enough to feel compassion. I must be compassionate. It is not enough to feel love. I must perform loving acts. To break the... 
by Tom Puetz | May 20, 2015 | Families and PTSD
It was deep in the winter of 1995. Mom was at the end of a long illness. She was dying. We called for the parish priest. He came and administered last rites. When the priest left I was sitting with mom and she said “I must be pretty bad if the priest came. I... 
by Tom Puetz | Mar 9, 2015 | Post Traumatic Growth
No longer clinging to The chaos of War is one Key to the Garden