I have strived to grow, heal and rise above

Problems. To live sensitive to others needs.

There is no joy in a spirit of heaviness,

Manipulating, controlling, my deepest desire

Thought and action, the very soul of me.

Why should I retreat to a horrific lifestyle

Thinking, acting, reducing my self esteem,

And others respect of me? To fill your

Hurting void - your unhealed mass?

You obsess with control to feel unthreatened

Each individual has needs, desires, visions.

To care is to build one up, help one be the

Best person they can be. To grow along side

Instead of suffocating ones free spirit.

Controllers dance in a turmoil of hurts and

Resentments, refusing to look at it or deal

With it. I will not dance in their control.

They need help - not company. I do not sell

My soul to demands that I be just like you.

I am me! And my soul belongs to God.

Wrote April 23^{rd 2002}

To offer hope and encouragement to all who

have been controlled by someone in their life that has

stolen time, energy, jobs, relationships and self esteem. Basically

they had an opportunity to help me grow and grow with me, learning

from me, delighting in life and each other and turned it into a destructive experience, wasting time, energy, opportunity - LIFE!

Always remember what others say in a negative

put down fashion tells a lot about

them but says little about YOU!

Helen Margaret Burley

Artwork by Eric Hollander