Desiree Batiste was born in Mesa, Arizona in 1979. She currently lives in Buckeye, Arizona with her husband Michael, her daughter Kaylee and their four cats: Sketch, Pixel, Trace and Slim Shady.

After surviving abuse at the hands of her mother in her teenage years, then surviving three separate relationships plagued with domestic violence, Desiree still persevered and graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Science in Technical Management with Criminal Justice specialization in 2020.

Writing stories and poetry has been a lifelong passion for Desiree. She had her first poem published in a small circulation newspaper for children at age 9 1/2, which only fueled her interest in writing. She has been diagnosed with PTSD and several anxiety disorders as the result of her past experiences. She continues with therapy on these issues, but writing has always been very therapeutic for her, and she hopes by sharing her poems and stories, she will help others who are in similar life circumstances.

She is the author of the book, “The Shaping of a Diamond”, which was released December of 2022. Desiree has more books in the making as well. She is working on her autobiography and a psychological thriller fiction novel.

Closed Doors

I grew up with apprehension
once I wasn’t someone she’d adore
I’d brace myself for the tension
each time she closed the door

Then the pastor’s son
out looking to score
said the ‘game’ we’d play would be fun
as he quickly closed the door

Being abused by my son’s father
until I could take no more
Worse always went farther
every time he closed the door

My first husband was evil
He almost killed me, as I lay on the floor
He moved out after his belonging’s retrieval
while I was relieved that behind him, he closed the door

My third husband went to jail
his humanity, extremely poor
Every time he approached, I paled
praying he wasn’t about to close the door

After he left, he played mind games
trying to rekindle was I had felt before
but I knew things could never be the same
and had the courage to close the door

When I met my soulmate, I knew
I’d never felt this way before
and that I could start life anew
All I had to do…was close the door

Fragments of My Mind

Taking a look inside
I see the broken pieces trapped within
Secrets I’ve spent a lifetime trying to hide
Change must start somewhere, but how do I begin?

So many fragments of me
Each with a different face
Each one of them can see
that I can’t keep up this pace.

The inner child wants a childhood
The serious ‘me’ wants discussion
All of us just want a life that’s good
without any repercussions.

The angry ‘me’ wants to release its rage
The balanced ‘me’ wants more faith
All of us want freedom from this cage
away from the darkness that lurks like a wraith.

The wilder ‘me’ wants a huge dose of fun
The main ‘me’ at times wishes to be whole
piece together all these fragments
so I can feel like I have a soul.

I want to stop being afraid
I want to believe I can change
Time to clean up this mess I made
and prepare to turn the page.

This story isn’t finished
There’s still so much to tell
Once my illness has diminished
and I’m freed from this self-made hell.

Piece them all together again
These fragments of my mind
Once that’s complete, that is when
I can leave this pain behind.