Dreams and Nightmares
I was recollecting all the times I had struggled to fall asleep. It felt like thousands, if not tens of thousands, of hours staring
My name is Benjamin Fortier. Since 2009, I've been self-publishing poetry, working in the media industry, and healing from a combat deployment to an incredibly violent city: Al-Falluja, Iraq (circa 2006).
It has taken me fifteen-odd years to reach into the depths of the young man you see in this photo and rip out the unrefined innards that made up the thoughts, memories, and emotions that drove me to join the Marine Corps after the effects of September 11, 2001.
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Thanks for joining me on this journey.