Author Matthew Heneghan

There is a noise that clamors within the mind of a troubled man. For me, that noise is memory. The recall of the sick, dying and dead. Remembering all those I once served alongside, and those who died doing what they love. Flags and caskets are now forever linked by…

I am in pain. My mind aches most days. My bones follow suit. I no longer use the elixir of alcohol to push away that pain. Instead, I am left to confront it all. A daunting and overwhelming task at times. Over the past several months, most of what I…

This world can be a lonely place at times. A friend reached out to me this evening, telling me of their loathsome thoughts towards self. They said they felt lonely and unwanted. Instinctively I wanted to say anything and everything to dissuade them of feeling that way, to push them…

I knew a woman, once… She was both kind and fierce. Her voice could elicit great comfort, or evoke fear into the hearts of the mischievous. She was there for me when I first came into this crazy, conflicted world of ours. The first time I fell down and the…

A Man In Pieces. Am I a soldier or a healer? Am I the sinner or the saint? Am I broken and healing, or am I whole and crumbling, piece by piece? A slow drip towards the end… Perhaps I am none of these things and perhaps I am all…

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a hero. But not just any hero—Superman! As I got older, I had to concede to both gravity and the need of a career. So, no red cape and tights for me. I was given a uniform though. First, a soldier’s…

I have a recurring dream. It’s a perilous trance fraught with horrible imagery and punitive repetition. It’s changed some over the years. The plotline remains intact, but a new cast of characters has been added to this woeful despondency. It started with a rattle, then a boy. Followed, the girl…

We’ve all been hit by those late night cravings at some time or another in our lives. And generally, late at night, there is rarely a healthy selection to choose from. Thus, the golden arches, McDonald’s, rotten Ronnie’s, McDee’s. Whatever you want to call it, we’ve all fallen victim to…

It’s a funny thing, the emotions that can bleed out from a photograph. That simple snap-shot in time can elicit feelings of joy, love, contentment and elation. It can also evoke the exact opposite. It all depends what it is you’re looking at, I suppose. A lesson gifted to me…

It’s 04:01 in the morning and I am awake. I know this because the numbers boasting from the screen of my alarm clock inform me of such. And despite the mention of an alarm, I was not at all required to be awake at such an arbitrary hour. It was…