More Than Words: A Life Journey in Poems

By Andrea Shannon

Andrea Shannon writes poetry that reflects on life experiences and relationships the good, the bad and the ugly. This collection of poems will draw you into her world and perhaps give you a closer look into your own. As you read, you will find yourself saying, I know someone like that or I was in the same situation at one time. See how many of your family, friends and acquaintances you can identify in these pages.

Youll find no flowery prose here; each poem is real, raw and straightforward. Ms. Shannon tells it like it is and doesnt pull punches. Her writing takes you straight to her heart, exposing all the joy and pain, laughter and tears, anger and fear that come wrapped up in this thing we call life. This is a collection you will want to read again and again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 30, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450269483

Andrea Shannon

ANDREA SHANNON began writing poetry in her high school years. Even then, it was noted that she had a unique style of writing. Her collection of poems is based on life experiences and observations. Andrea currently resides in Columbus, Ohio. She is the mother of two and grandmother of three.

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Copyright © 2010 by Andrea Shannon

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ISBN: 978-1-4502-6947-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-6948-3 (ebook)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 11/22/2010

Table of Contents

A Note from the Author

Women I Have Known

A Mother’s Love

Sistah Girlfriend

Trouble Maker

Piety

Status SHOW

Superiority Complex

What Now?

Little Girl

My Friend, My Sister

My Sister Always

The Faded Rose

Crash and Burn

Men…. The Good

You Found Me

Gravity and Magnetism

Sweet Impact

Before You

How Is It?

Gift of Love

Love You/Love Us

Daydream

Musician

I Miss You

How Many Ways?

California Dreamin’

Who You Are To Me

A Part of Me

The Greatest Love

More In Love

My Destiny

Our Love (Beyond Definition)

In Tune

If I Ever Lost You

Men…. The Bad

Heaven Sent/Hell Bound

Worth the Risk

Fear of Commitment

Dream

Illusion of Love

Talk To Me

Reciprocity

My Rightful Place

If You Were Me

Talking

My Love Is

Still Talking

In The Balance

Turning Point

Moving Day

Words and Actions

Nothing to Give

Slipping Away

Men…. The Ugly

Weather the Storm

Apology Not Accepted

Two Faces

Sick and Tired (Of Being Sick and Tired)

Let You Go

Taboo

Pursuit

Vanity

Give It Up, Let It GO

Realization

Ten Days

Hold Onto You

I’m Sorry

Trust

Garden of Sorrow

Suspended In Time

Loneliness

A Day in the Park

Every Night

Wintertime

Yesterday

Dead of Winter

But I’m Not Sad

Reality Check

Bedtime Story

Wait For Me

The Struggle

Who Sees The Rain?

My Soul Cries Out

Scattered

Contradiction

Songs

Being Me

Deception

Wings

They Say

It’s Hard To

Divine Guidance

Waiting for My Release

Song Bird

Quiet As It’s Kept

The Inspiration

Give Thanks

When All Is Said and Done

In The Meantime

Peace In the Midst of Your Storm

I Sing

Just Do It

The Other Side of Through

A New Beginning

This Too Shall Pass

Out of the Darkness

Lessons Learned

To Be A Child Again

Introspection

Introspection 2

Echoes of Youth

Redeeming the Time

Chilling Thoughts (On A Winter’s Day)

Through My Grandchildren’s Eyes

One Golden Rule

God Don’t Like Ugly (Karma)

To Do List

Moving Forward

You Don’t Get A Cookie For That

You Must Reap

Just For Fun

Response to the Cool Dude in the Disco

Cheer Up, Emo Kid!

Oh, Man!

Writer’s Block

Thoughts On An Autumn Day

Recipe for a Love Song

A Note from the Author

As I look back on my life at this point, I realize that my experiences have probably not been so different from anyone else’s. I’ve done some things, gone some places and met some people. I’ve been in good and bad relationships. I’ve had good times and bad times, and I’ve come through it as a stronger (and hopefully better) person because of it. In my opinion, what generally makes or breaks a person is not so much what they go through, but rather the attitude they have going through it.

When I was 15 years old, I went away from my home, family and friends in Columbus, Ohio to attend the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Not only was it a culture shock for me, but for the first time I found myself without my mother to lean on. My mother was, and is, my rock. Having to face class discrimination, racism and sexism on top of the usual teenage angst associated with finding self-esteem, self-identity and self-love was almost too much to bear. I turned to journal writing for solace and a way to non-destructively deal with people and situations I came up against.

I found an unwitting ally in one of my English professors. He apparently saw something in me that I did not, and pushed me to hone my writing skills. He showed me how to write in a stronger voice; to use more demonstrative and descriptive language. I found myself enrolling in his creative writing course in my senior year. This is where I discovered poetry as an outlet for my own emotions as well as a way to potentially reach others in similar situations. I found that I wanted to speak to others the way poets like Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni spoke to me.

More Than Words is a collection of poems straight from the pages of my life. Some of them were written to motivate, inspire, encourage or console those close to me; others, to give voice to my own joy, heartache, anger and frustration. This book is an attempt to broaden my circle of influence, so to speak, and reach people I will likely never meet face to face. It is my hope that these poems will touch your heart, encourage and inspire you, and help you to find your voice as well.

Be blessed,

Andrea Shannon

Women I Have Known

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They are our mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, co-workers, neighbors and fellow church members. Many women have influenced my life in showing me not only what kind of woman I wanted to be, but also what kind of woman I did NOT want to be.

A Mother’s Love

Pure, sweet and undefiled

As God so loved the