From the poet,
I bleed ink so you don't have to.

My pains are smeared across
this post, splattered shattered broken
and shredded, for all to see and
witness the choke.

Chained by society,
held down by anxiety,
depression thinks I'm a joke,
laughing in my face reminding me
of everything I lack.

My abuser is a shadow,
doesn't matter how far away
they are, their ghost is my enemy.

Suffering is my companion,
like a knife it stabs me to remind me
its never far behind me.

Though I struggle, I grow stronger,
I grew a thicker skin, my scars are
a reminder of where I've been.

From the poet,
I bleed ink so you don't have to,
I grow poems through my heartbreak
and strife. I became the knife and my
struggles are my scars.

Its my life.

©️ 2025 By Amanda Shelton