There are no life preservers, the winds will not die down, I can slowly feel myself slipping under, swallowing water, I thrash, I’m starting to drown.

I’ve battled the same beasts, the same evil monsters my entire life,

Their outside appearance has been a bit different, yet their insides have always been alike.

Battling with my mind, secretly fighting all that they are, trying to protect the ones I love from obtaining anymore scars.

The demons that reside within them are some of the worst I’ve seen by far, they keep them hidden under a cloak, this way NO ONE really knows who they are.

The ones that suffer the most, when he unleashes his toxic fumes, it’s myself and our own children, our mental health he continues to consume.

There’s one thing as tricky as him, that weighs you down like a blanket of cinder blocks. Rage is not the only black cloud over his head, There is Something else he will never escape.

It’s sticky, heavy and as dark as tar, it’s covered his heart and made him turn sour. It’s consumed him from the time he was a child, and this is what we call HATE.

Shannon Lynn Anderson (Barker)