Sergeant First Class Alexander Stewart has deep roots in the Warwick community. He was born at St. Anthony’s, played in Warwick’s little league, and lived on Sleepy Valley Road for about 20 years before joining the U.S. Army. His grandparents and other relatives still live in the area, and multiple generations have participated in the color guard as part of the Warwick Memorial Day parade.
But it was his experience as an active duty servicemember that inspired him to write and publish his first book of poetry. The book, “Unspoken Words: The Thoughts of a Soldier,” includes 20 poems that explore the complex lives of soldier on and off the battlefield, their emotions, trauma and their understanding of patriotism, among other themes.
Stewart says he wrote the book to help his fellow active duty servicemembers and veterans. In an email exchange, he described the book as covering issues related to post-traumatic stress disorder and the reason for its prevalence among soldiers. Stewart said he also added several funny, motivational, and patriotic poems geared toward providing military members “with a whimsical look at some of the events we deal with, such as spouses cheating while we are away.”
“The reason I wrote the collection, and am currently working on another volume, is that I am trying to provide civilians with a better understanding of the minds of military members and the things we go through, while also showing all military personnel that there are people out there who understand what they are going through and that it is okay to not be okay,” explained Stewart.
Stewart, who also works as a motivational speaker in his spare time, is currently serving as a drill instructor at Fort Moore in Georgia, but says he’s also working with military and chaplain corps within the U.S. Army to make his book of poetry available to soldiers for free. He said his goal is to provide his poetry to “anyone struggling with the aftermath of their time overseas.”
The book is slated to be released on March 12 via Amazon, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble; it can also be pre-ordered through those sites.
