Another Original By Me

So much pain, yet trying to be strong,
All the heartache that we carry along.
Fighting the temptation to just let go,
A feeling that many will never know.
Wanting to sleep, wanting to drown,
Pulling yourself up just to fall down.
Trying to wake up and live everyday,
Fighting to survive when you don’t wanna stay.
So many feel this way and I can see you,
I’ve been fighting this war since 1992.
It’s a battle for sure because of where you have been,
It’s a struggle No doubt, but one you can win.
No one is perfect and healing will take time,
The mountain of pain has a long path to climb.
When we get to the top our eyes will finally see,
That the pain we have felt is what now sets us free.

Original
By me
Right now
Xoxo
All of you
❤️

It feels as though I’m fighting against a current, one that is so much stronger than me.

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)

Untitled Poem

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King Jr

I’m trying, some days are good, some are GREAT,
And some I smile just to hide the pain.

Hold back the tears, chin up, you’re strong.
No sleep, broken mind but still carry on.

My feet are permanently planted on solid ground so it seems,

But that’s just an illusion, even one I cannot see.

One day I will rise, just Like a Phoenix and the Sun,

From these ashes I will crawl, and who will hurt me? NO ONE

SLA

9/24/23

And off to work ❤️

Lost In the Darkness

(Old but finished posted in June)

A storm is approaching, can you hear the rolling thunder? It matches the thud of my broken heart, the sharp unpleasant sensation within it.

As the lightning strikes nature, this feeling of electrocution surges through my body. Every breath I take my pain increases, feeling as though my heart is being compressed.

All I want is to run into the pouring rain, close my eyes and raise my head to the sky while screaming

I beg the rolling clouds to release their smokey furry, to unleash earth’s tears. Allow your downpour to cascade upon me, washing away all the suffering within my heart.

Forces above, remove the wreckage that has emotionally trapped me for it leaves nothing behind but agony and torment. Cleanse and free me from all grief and sorrow so I may finally feel free.

Shannon

Never Let Your Loyalty Make A Fool Out Of You

Abusers and cheaters do not change, just camouflage themselves temporarily. Waiting till they are wrapped around you like a boa. Only then do they begin to reappear.

They silently suck the life out of you while strangling you to the point of unconsciousness. Hypnotizing you with their lies and deceitful ways. You become delirious and out of touch with life.

If a snake strikes once, do not think you can tame it. Over time, you may assume you have done enough. That you were GOOD ENOUGH to calm the wild serpent.

He waits to strike again, knowing he fooled you. That he has gained your love, trust and loyalty. He uses all three to manipulate and abuse you. He leaves you mentally destroyed, and slithers along the path of destruction he leaves behind.

If you cut the head off the first time, his venom will not flow through your veins. He won’t have the chance to consume your heart. When you feel your body tightening up from the emotional and physical abuse, LEAVE. Do NOT be his prey.

Shannon

Untitled

2023

The last few years have been emotionally paralyzing for me. But these past 5 months I think have been the hardest financially.

My depression has been at an all-time high. If you suffer from this empty dark hole of nothing, you know as well as I, that we can’t choose to fill it up and leave it behind.

If only this disease would evaporate when I take these pills. If the gloom was as easy as flipping on a light switch and illuminating everything immediately.

If I could look in the mirror and actually see myself and not the face of someone I don’t recognize anymore.

It’s so easy for someone that doesn’t suffer with severe depression to tell you what you should be doing. Give you their opinion on what will pull you out of this debilitating disease. Clear this brain fog that they know nothing about.

I mean really, when someone has the flu head stuck in the toilet, barfing their guts out do you tell them to just close their mouth and hold it in? When someone has a severe allergy and has a reaction to something that can kill them, do you sit there and say ” Just go lay down breathe in and out it’ll pass”.

No, because clearly you can see that they are sick. You can see the physical effects of this allergic reaction, you can see the thermometer that shows how high of a fever one may have.

Those of us with depression, we don’t always have outside visible signs. Everything is internal, scrambling our brains like fried eggs and then slithering down through our body like a hungry snake.

It’s an emotional, mental and physical disease that we can’t explain with words. We can’t physically show you most of the time. We don’t CHOOSE to just lay around in bed all day, or for weeks at a time. Because that sounds like a good time, don’t it 🙄.

We don’t wake up in the morning and say to ourselves, ” Hey I think I won’t brush my hair for the next two weeks and while I’m at it shit I don’t feel like changing my clothes for days either!”. We don’t choose this, we don’t WANT to be this way.

Believe me, those of us that suffer from this crappy invisible disease would much rather not have it. We would love to wake up in the morning and feel what most consider normal. Feel alive and energized and ready to start the day. Unfortunately for most of us, we’re not going to feel any better until spring. 😩

We have to keep rowing, row through all the twists, turns and rapid Waters of this stream we call life. We have to hang on to whatever life preservers are available, just in case our canoe starts to go under. We have to reach and grasp at any branch when our kayak begins to tip. We have to FIGHT every waking minute of our lives to stay afloat. We fight the current as it tries to rip us away. Those like us are the strongest fighters in my eyes. Unfortunately even the strongest swimmers can drown.

Before you open your mouth, and say something you may regret. Before you speak to someone with ANY type of Mental Health Illness, read some of my posts and maybe you’ll think twice before you speak. JS

Thanks for reading.

And if you would like to help support my work, I will be opening a shop soon on eBay. Crazy creations completely made by me!

Shannon ❤️

It’s after 3@

Toss and turn, toss and turn, that’s all I’ve been doing for the last few nights. Hurting, crying, trying to come to terms that he’s moved on within 2 weeks. I’m no longer a part of his life.

I start to think about my life, why I was given this shitty deck? How could God be so cruel, continuing to slip jokers in my worn out pack of cards. I swear there’s only supposed to be two in there, seems my deck is halfway filled with the damn things.

A hard childhood, full of physical and emotional abuse. Then you add molestation on top of it, I think that’s enough crap for any person to go through. But no let’s keep adding more, rape, a father that wants nothing to do with you, more abuse and heartbreak. What in the hell is all this supposed to teach me?

I have nothing, unless you count depression, anxiety, ADHD, and PTSD, and those aren’t gifts I would wish on anyone. Sometimes I can’t tell which one is which anymore.

Alone, falling apart, yet having to try and keep myself together for my daughter’s. When all I really want to do is run the hell away, find a hole in the woods, lay there and rot.

I may feel like I want the bugs to eat my decaying dying body, in actuality I don’t And only because my girls need me. I know I’m all they have, yet it’s so hard trying to be emotionally “okay” for them. They’ve seen me cry more than they should have to. It’s at the point now, I go sit in grams car and I cry uncontrollably. I break down, then go back inside. They shouldn’t have to sit and hear me falling apart.

I know this will pass, I will forget him and the pain. I will move on just like he has. But I wish I could hit the skip button through all this bullshit. You know, just jump ahead and go right to the part where I’m perfectly fine. The part where I’m over it and I don’t care.

We went through this once before, years ago and for a few years. But I’m not in my twenties, and I can’t wait like I did last time. I cannot sit here and wait on him to realize that he messed up, to accept responsibility for the things that have happened. To realize that our family is irreplaceable, and these are memories that you can’t get back. There’s no do-over in a child’s life. I can’t wait again, waiting on him to realize that he allowed anger and his past issues to destroy everything we built together.

And I just can’t sit and wait for him to realize that he did love me, and that I’m the one he wants. Because if I sit and allow myself to wait again, it’s going to extend the pain for much longer than I want. So, for now I will cry, I will be depressed and hurt. I will be pissed off, I will miss him, but I cannot wait, not again.

So Darius, I loved you more than any man. I thought we were going to build a future together. Be a family. For a long time I saw so much change in you, I really never thought that this is where we would be again. So yes, I am heartbroken. I’ll respect the fact that you don’t want to seek professional help, not for yourself, not for our relationship, or our family.

We are all in counseling this way. As for me, it was the right choice. This way, I have someone helping me through the feeling of abandonment. She’s there to help me process my emotions. Helping me move on, let us go, and this time for good. She is helping me realize that life is short, and time is precious. I can’t waste what’s left of my life waiting for a man that doesn’t love me, that doesn’t respect me, and just does not want anything to do with me at this time.

There’s nothing worse in life than loving somebody TO THE FULLEST, and that person just doesn’t love you back. It’s got to be the most painful thing I’ve ever felt. So, it’s time to love myself, get my head right, and then find someone that can give me as much as I give them emotionally.

I am a relationship kinda woman, and I love feeling loved, to be spooning at night, random kisses, hugs and a slap on the ass every now and then. 😂 That’s something I don’t want to put on the back burner, I can’t wait for forever, not again.

Shannon