I Carried Two Soldiers

I carried two soldiers today,
two men I had never met.
A name on a sign, one in each hand,
the names of two fallen vets.

I stood for our soldiers today,
this humid Fourth of July.
I dutifully applauded when
Indiana’s fallen came marching by.

I heard a woman’s shout today;
she called for more volunteers.
“Too many soldiers have fallen,” she said.
Her plea rang on deaf ears.

I looked to the left, then to the right,
onlookers on either side.
Not a single person stepped forward
to carry a soldier’s sign.

So I carried two soldiers today,
an honor equivalent to none.
I carried Earl Fredrick Cartrette Jr.
and Michael Fredrick Anderson.

We walked hand-in-hand today,
a woman and ghosts of two men.
Three in a crowd of the fallen,
a sea of names who had been.

“Every soldier is being carried today,”
called the man in the final row.
“No soldier left behind!”
came his jubilant echo.

I walked the parade today.
Applause swelled on either side.
Tears burned for my soldiers
and my heart swelled with pride.

I met two brave men today
in a curious sort of way.
They touched my soul beyond the grave
and in my heart they’ll stay.

Thank you for your service, Earl Fredrick Cartrette Jr. & Michael Fredrick Anderson

*Based on true events of 07.04.2017

Sara A. Noë

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I'm an award-winning fantasy author, artist, and photographer from La Porte, Indiana. My poetry, short fiction, and memoir works have been featured in various anthologies and journals since 2005, and several of my poems are available in the Indiana Poetry Archives. The first three novels in my Chronicles of Avilésor: War of the Realms series have received awards from Literary Titan.

After some time working as a freelance writer, I was shocked by how many website articles are actually written by paid "ghost writers" but published under the byline of a different author. It was a jolt seeing my articles presented as if they were written by a high-profile CEO or an industry expert with decades of experience. I'll be honest; it felt slimy and dishonest. I had none of the credentials readers assumed the author of the article actually had. Ghost writing is a perfectly legal, astonishingly common practice, and now, AI has entered the playing field to further muddy the waters. It's hard to trust who (or what) actually wrote the content you'll read online these days.

That's not the case here at On The Cobblestone Road. I do not and never will pay a ghost writer, then slap my name on their work as if I'd written it. This website is 100% authentic. No outsourcing. No ghost writing. No AI-generated content. It's just me... as it should be.

If you would like to support my work, check out the Support The Creator page for more information. Thank you for finding my website! 🖤