I have run the gauntlet
Every addiction, every emotion,
Every fear and every trust
Has pounded me to my knees.
I made it through the line
With still a few breaths to expend.
Although badly beaten
A few welts still dripping blood.
I lick my wounds and
Prepare for the next
More difficult test of strength
Yet how do I tie all
These random thoughts
Into one flowing idea!
How can I live without blood?
How can I survive without the fire?
No more pills to take it away
Get out of my head
Do not ask me to change
The color of my personality
Simply because you
Desire a lighter shade.
Dianne Lowe Breakfield
Author Bio
I was born in 1960 with a tremendous love of animals and a natural talent for the written word. I was also born with a mental illness that went undiagnosed for half of my life. I always dreamed of being able to accomplish just as much as someone who does not have to deal with a mental illness. Being a published writer has always been a dream that seemed just out of reach for me until Dreaming Big Publications gave me a chance. I saved thousands of precious animal lives, and now I am a writer. Who would have guessed it?
Several of my poems have been included in an anthology written by several authors who suffer from a mental illness. The book is titled, ‘Person Suit’ and is available on Amazon.
I have two grown daughters, and through them I have six wonderful grandchildren. My husband has two daughters and a son, and his daughters have given us three grandsons so far.
I live in the country on my family estate, where I ran a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter for ten years and consider this my second greatest achievement only behind my family.