Rock bottom. I think it's so important that we understand what those two words mean. The reality is that some of our friends, acquaintances, and colleagues may be in that place right now. The reality is that thousands of people in our country and around the world are there right now. I think it's important to understand the pain they're going through, be able to sympathize with them, and have compassion for them.

Here are two poems written by a good friend of mine, Jessica. Her drawing Heart of Hearts is also featured above.


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Addiction

A needle pricks the pale flesh that is draped over shrinking muscles and red bones.
He is the unwanted; the unloved.
No one sees him; no one wants to see him.
People accuse him of being a bum or a whore,
But they don’t see that he has to fight to live.
They don’t see him being molested and raped.
So he has to run away and he runs himself off a cliff.
He takes the demon in a shot of heroin.
And he has no control.
His body craves poison, and if he does take he will die.
But he knows it will kill him slowly.
But to others he is already dead.
He then smiles in agony, knowing that his death may make some foot note in the day’s news.
He knows though that he is unwanted.
He knows that no one cares.
And so he walks up and down;
Waiting, waiting.
Dreaming of a better tomorrow.


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Depression

My heart sunk. Too deep, too deep in to the shadows... Tears flood my mind and pour out of me. I cannot see the path that lays before me. I am just being played by the others around me. Like a dead puppet that lost her strings. Watch her cry, watch her die. Let her suffer, Let her lie. I wander though this world, blinded by the thoughts of others, suffering from my hand. These lies, these lies. Why can't I escape? Every step turns into a trail of blood. Every tear is hidden. I cannot get out, this feeling in my soul stays. I cannot get out, can I withstand this pain? I cannot get out, tears screaming in the dark.