Steve’s WARRIOR Story

The Victim No More

By Steven Bates 5 March 2022

Written following a conference call with Purple Lotus WARRIOR Yoga

I was a victim, Yes, I said I was,

I tell you this statement, the why, and because

The Why, not important, call it an attack

Because? The attacker stabbed me in the back

 
The pain, as a victim, lasted for years

It echoed in dreams and brought me to tears

It tortured my soul, caused pain in my heart 

It seemed that my trauma never would part

 
But now I have learned not to hang on

To the misery, the agony, the burden put on

I learned that I am a victim no more

But a survivor my friend, just call me.. VICTOR!

PoemSpeak was created in Dec of 2017 by Steven Bates and his wife, and was granted 501(c)3 status effective 15 Feb 2018. Steven had once shown a few poems of suicidal nature to a friend at the local VA. The friend asked to keep them and nothing was thought much about it. About two months later, it was revealed to Steve that his friend had actually been contemplating suicide but something in the poems had changed his mind that very night he had intended to complete the act. Since being informed that a poem had the power to possibly save a life, Steven, who had dreams of publishing his poems and becoming a famous poet, decided that fame was not his fate, but helping others thru his poems was. PoemSpeak’s Mission is the free distribution of all material in their inventory to those struggling with PTSD, depression, or suicidal thoughts so that they know they are not alone in their battles.

To learn more about PoemSpeak and order your book of poems, go to: www.poemspeak.org