The Pain Sings a Song

As a teen, poet Shalanda Shaw was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The difficulties of her newly realized illness were devastating, but with the help of family, therapy, and medications, she found a way to survive—although it was never simple. She quickly learned to channel her emotional agony into the written word.

The Pain Sings a Song is a seven-part poetic narrative of her journey. In parts one, two and three, Shalanda accepts her new status as someone with mental illness and says goodbye to the young woman she once knew. In part four, she begs her own mind to let her change, let her heal, as she sinks further into the dark shadows of self.

Parts five and six iterate her need for revenge against bipolar disorder, and to channel her anger, she keeps a carefully written account of what the disease has done to her. In part seven, Shalanda is not healed, but she does consider the battle won by the grace of God. We all have pain in our lives, but somehow, we must find a way to sing.