Dissonance Personified

Home
Notes
Archive
About

December 2024

Mouth of the South
Some people love the holidays. Then there are folks like me who feel relieved once the dust settles and I arrive wearied back at my house. After the…
 • 
Stan Lake
17
Holiday Ghosts
Growing up, I always wished I had an older brother—someone to guide and teach me. I was the oldest of my biological siblings, and that role fell to me…
 • 
Stan Lake
8
Busy Hands
I have two speeds. It’s either manic or panic. This has been the rhythm of my life for as long as I can remember. I’m either frantically energetic and…
 • 
Stan Lake
11
Dirty Mirrors
I dreamt about the war again last night. It wasn’t traumatic this time. It was just weird. It was dustier than I remembered. I was in the right place…
 • 
Stan Lake
13

November 2024

It Used to Be Colder
A thought captures me. I keep coming back to it. I must have been in fourth or fifth grade. It was somewhere between Halloween and Christmas, and I was…
 • 
Stan Lake
4
The Things They Carried
A few weeks back, in the veteran’s expression writing group I was a part of, we were given a prompt based on Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They…
 • 
Stan Lake
13
Through Being Cool
Last Sunday night, I found myself amid a sea of forty-somethings standing shoulder to shoulder, awaiting the magic that was sure to come. The lights…
 • 
Stan Lake
8
Amphibious Transition
Transition is a buzzword in the military and veteran community. When you leave the service and become a veteran, you trade one life for another. Some…
 • 
Stan Lake
9
Return To Base
I’ve written quite a few words in a feeble attempt to explain the week I’ve had. Still, I can’t find adequate language to explain how I feel and how…
 • 
Stan Lake
22

October 2024

© 2025 Stan Lake
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture