My Lifeline by Alisha Singletary
Medium: Colored pencil
Size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
Artist Statement: I was trying to portray recovering from an eating disorder and mental health by incorporating the signs of awareness along with the words of hope – victim/survivor/thriver
The Real Me! by Alisha Singletary
Lebanon County Prison – Pennsylvania
I was born a statistic, crafted to be addicted
As an African American, light-skinned female
Not white enough for the Whites and for the Blacks too pale.
Woke up one day to find, everything changed
My mom, my whole family, even my name!
Too young to understand, to grasp the concept,
That no matter what, I was one no one could accept,
As the years flew by and the
Abuse didn’t stop.
Being bullied about my hair, Bullies
called it
A mop,
So I hardened my core, I would be bullied no more.
Since I witnessed violence, day in and day out
I learned to let my hands show people what I was
all about.
I got tired of others hurting me. It was my turn to
be on top
So, once I got pregnant with my son, it was hard
to stop
Losing my son
To the same system that I was put through was very hard.
But throughout this journey, I’ve always had
God
So, I may be a statistic
And I may have made it so.
I plan to move on in life and succeed though!
So I may be a statistic Yes, that may be
Yet a statistic is not ALL of me
I am a daughter, a grand-daughter, a sister,
and friend.
A mother, an Aunt, niece and cousin.
I have painted this picture of a woman
Scorned
One who holds on to her past
As she writes these words she’s FREE
AT LAST!
So you ask me who am I?
This is my only reply
I am a strong black woman tired of
hurting
Ready to move forward on her journey
I am humble, empathetic, capable and
deserving of a life at ease
With only God, my heavenly father to please
Now this is the … REAL ME!
Image description: An EKG line in the middle of the page intersects a vibrantly-colored butterfly, around which are written the words “Victim..No, Survivor..Maybe…Thriver, Definitely”.