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Thunder in the City of Sunnis
But in Iraq, there was no plywood on the picture window. I slept through the early part of the storm, dreaming about a call to prayer sucking me into the basement of a mosque. Do mosques even have basements? Or would I be disappointed to learn that they do not, like the Alamo.

Ben Fortier
Sep 203 min read


Men's Mental Health Awareness Month
November is men’s mental health. These prompts were created by “The Lighthouse of Poetry” which is a page dedicated to mental health

Ben Fortier
Nov 7, 20232 min read


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

Ben Fortier
Aug 29, 20234 min read


"It's that simple." A Navy Veteran Tells It Like It Is
This is a revised essay, the original of which I wrote nearly two decades ago as a High School student. It is about my grandfather.

Ben Fortier
Aug 25, 20235 min read


Made of Granite (The Death of Cpl. King)
Tears suddenly rolled down my right cheek. It felt as if a channel of magma was tunneling through the granite my face was supposed to be...

Ben Fortier
Aug 10, 20231 min read


The Damage Done by Sarah Cavanaugh
It’s hard for me not to react emotionally to the news of Sarah Cavanaugh being revealed as a “stolen valor” con artist.

Ben Fortier
Mar 22, 20233 min read


What Happens When an 8th Grader Reads My Poetry?
What Happens When an 8th Grader Reads My Poetry? Their response enlightens me!

Ben Fortier
Feb 7, 20232 min read


Simple Machines: The Backbone of Hardware
An article about how simple machines have changed the landscape of devices and hardware.

Ben Fortier
Feb 7, 20233 min read


The Witch of War: Lessons from the Global War on Terrorism Campaigns
My online social media accounts were filled with praise for our troops (particularly the Marine Corps) for hunting down and killing insurgen

Ben Fortier
Jan 31, 20237 min read
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