A stranger stares at me from the ceiling As the eyelids flutter Taking advantage of the vulnerable state That I barely realized I was in. Slowly the room gets dark and cold and frigid, And the air smells like a vat of warming iron. Blood begins to crash in waves on to the floor Horrifying images are projected on the Decaying concrete walls that surround me, Like a bad noir cinema playing in a downtown alley. Only this film is dreadfully personal And feels so real that I can almost touch it. Its soundtrack plays inside my head So loud that it begins to distort. The room starts to shake And the stranger, standing idly in the door way Starts to leave. I don't know who or what it is, but I hate it. The blood is gone. The smell of the air returns to normal, And I know it will be back. I just hope I'm strong enough. There is something wrong With what I have done.
Native Rhode Islander and self-proclaimed Renaissance Man, Iraq veteran Benjamin Fortier is a multi-talented writer, musician, and technology geek. He is currently in school (again) studying computer networking and cybersecurity. His day job is in service to his rescue dog, Princess Peppa Pig the American Bully. He is the author of Stones of the Wooded Valley and The Silent Whispers of Omens.
Listen to Ben’s Savage Wonder episode below.
Hear Benjamin Fortier live at the Savage Wonder Festival of veterans in the arts on May 29! Have you gotten your tickets yet?
If you give monkeys enough time, can they really write Hamlet? How did Leon Trotsky actually react to finding an axe embedded in his head? What does it take for two strangers to fall in love without screwing it up? Are you having a bad day or are you simply stuck in a "Philadelphia"? The VetRep 2022 season of staged readings kicks off with an evening of fast and funny staged readings featuring the whimsical comedy of David Ives.
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