Brent Boeckman

Standing in the shrapnel of a former world,
despite the constant shore, failing and falling away.
The call, heavy, carrying the dull, metallic scent
of a fierce fight lost—
the quiet ruin when every effort is given,
yet the whole thing collapses.

Underneath the chaos, the governing law revealed:
a silent, binding contract signed decades ago,
mandating the role as always secondary.
Articulating this prime directive, a hush falling on deaf ears.
The mechanism seizing. Seeing the blueprint of life’s choices—
a script written by others, for one to perform.

Confessing of spiritual-death to an internal vacancy,
the clocks only measuring obligation, never zest.
One’s own sustenance perpetually last on the ledger.
A sorrowful tone running low, but beneath it,
a faint electricity: the refusal to flee.
A willingness to turn the gaze inward for once,
facing the source, not just the symptom.

Resolve creates beginning, beginning takes shape.
Defining the atmospheric pressure lived under—
the ceaseless, exhausting oscillation.
One hour, a pillar, firmly anchored;
the next, a compass needle spinning, lost and untethered.
The brutal rhythm of strength chased by surrender.

A door opens—not to destruction, but to air.
Finding a simple, deep-seated rest unknown since youth.
Alone, the need to present a certain image vanishes.
The quiet and absolute lack of noise is healing.
The simple awareness that peace is the residue of not being
constantly needed—
but becoming the very first, stable platform for the rebuild.

Brent Boeckman is a men’s somatic trauma and emotional resiliency coach and has been writing poetry as a means of expression, healing, and connection for as long as he can remember. He leads with his heart, is a proud father, and is a community
advocate for mental health.

This poem appeared in What We Hold On To: Poems of Coping, Connection, and Carrying On — Winter 2026, published by The Chaos Section Poetry Project. We’ll be featuring each poem from the collection individually in the weeks ahead. You can read the full collection or download a free PDF of the chapbook here.