Hi there!

How have you been? Life's been good with you?

It's been a struggle on my end, to be frank. It felt like the worst bouts of depression were behind me, yet over the past months, things have just spiraled out of control. It isn't as bad as it was late last year, but it's bad nonetheless. As someone who abstains from alcohol and tobacco usage, keeping the mind distracted from the filth behind the facade of happiness is an honest struggle.

My therapist has been chasing me to resume journaling. My day job as an IT Consultant doesn't spare enough time for leisure, and with the limited time at my disposal, it is quite a struggle to journal my thoughts. However, it seems to be the only way I can preserve my sanity.

My life has been a mess, thanks in part to the trauma triggered by my experience journaled in Withered Roses. So it would just make sense to let my quill journal the journey since. Anguished Irises is a stand-alone poetry collection, and even if you haven't read Withered Roses which by the way is this collection's natural predecessor, it won't hamper your experience of this book.

But, if there are parts in this collection that make you wonder - 'What must have been the force that broke this man?', Withered Roses shall provide you with a perfect backstory, and to some extent, the justification behind who I am as a poet, a romantic, and a person.

Let me conclude the prologue with the customary 2-question questionnaire for my readers:

Q1 - How do you move on from a heart-wrenching relationship collapse?

Q2 - If you do not move on, how do you cope with the loss?

Again, it's never mandatory to answer these questions, and it won't alter your experience of the book. It's just a way of trying to get ideas to skip my therapist visits and heal myself, once and for all.

With it, I present to you Anguished Irises.