Poetry
This page will showcase some of the amazing photos taken and created by people with mental health problems.
We may sometimes get unwell, but boy can we be creative!
"Thank You"
By Leanne Cairns
"Recovery Bike"
By Leanne Cairns
"Do, Don't Die"
By Leanne Cairns
Last night I fought with demons
On a field inside my head
They tried to overpower me
And leave me there for dead.
My fear was overpowering
As we wrestled to the floor
If my foe should overcome me
I will stand again no more.
For there will be no quarter
If the day succumbs to night
The dark would then be total
I would not be here to fight.
So here I’m locked in fierce embrace
In a fight for what will be
With an enemy who knows me best
The enemy is me!
"The Struggle"
By Alan B.
About this Poem:
I wrote this about the internal battle with relapse…
"The Road Ahead"
By Alan B.
Is there somewhere where there’s sanctuary from the torment of the mind?
Is there somewhere with serenity or a peace of any kind?
Is there somewhere where its hum drum and monotony is rife?
Is there somewhere I can rest myself and start to build a life?
For I’m a wounded soldier – in a war not of my making
Playing the lead man in a drama without knowing I’m partaking.
Shell-shocked from the fury of the cyclone of my fear
Reeling from the maelstrom with no knowledge of the here.
I need a place to gather and grow stronger by the day
So I can find the purpose that will lead me on my way
For aimless in this darkness without meaning to my plight
Would be as searching for a rainbow in the darkest dark of night.
The years till now have lamed me and I need to take respite
To internalise my focus, seek the answers, get it right.
Released now from my demons to have freedom in my thinking
Now standing captain at the helm to keep this ship from sinking.
All suffered made me who I am, not who I’ll come to be
Past actions will enslave – but future deeds will set me free
All knocks and falls took on my way were all by fault, unplanned
But every fall I ever took resulted in a stand.
Success will not be measured by how happy I become
Or the distance I have travelled on the journey now begun
My spirit will not kindle when I succeed to get it right
Only when it’s nurtured in the glory of the LIGHT.
About this Poem:
I wrote this about the internal battle with relapse…
For all the highs I ever had
From good to fair to fucking mad
I never really scored my goal
Just played the game and lost my soul.
It’s like I tried to snatch the air
And consume all there is out there
There were no drugs I wouldn’t try
Afraid to let a high go bye.
The quickening heart, the sudden rush
And then the embryonic hush
The empty hole, excessive need
Fed constant by a manic greed.
The drug, the pimp and me, the whore
As we spiral to the lonely floor
All hope is gone, no place to be
My world in chains, no longer free.
I must escape this hellish place
No peace, no love, no dreams to chase.
Else here it is that I shall die
Afraid to let a high go, BYE!
"Afraid to Let a High Go Bye"
By Alan B.
"Self Saboteur"
By Alan B.
Where do you hide
From the self-saboteur……
The “HE” inside the mirror…
“HE” that opens every door.
“HE” that looks you in the window
In the mirror of your eyes –
I see reflections of perceptions
As you focus and arise.
“HE’s” aside you as you walk each step
No shadows from the Sun
He’s at every destination
Of your journeys just begun.
HE’s” ahead of time – and waiting
All-knowing and divine
It’s for me to understand his will
And make it one with mine
We ponder poignant questions,
Do we stand or do we hide?
Is there really a safe sanctuary,
From…the ”HE’ who lives inside.
I give myself such mischief……
I orchestrate my strife!
If only I could step and stand aside
I might enjoy – this life.
If this fight is lost to vanity
To selfish thought and deed,
Then I walk in light – yet blindness
Being led by human greed.
I have hope for my salvation
Amalgamation – making true,
An orchestrated fusion
Of both the me’s – with YOU.
KNOW THYSELF…
Do I really know the question?
Do I understand the ask
Can I really know the spirit ?
The life behind the mask.
The life inside’s not hidden
It is visible to see
It’s my shaping of experience
Whilst allowing things to be.
I resides in living body
I am formless to the view
I’m the choices and decisions
That defines both me and you.
The goal is immaterial, in its object, and its aim
It relies on true believing
In your message
Not your name!
The formless living spirit
That is he and she…the You
Allows choices and decisions
In all we say and do.
If we act in true accordance
Use compassion as our view
The lord and our creator
Will walk with all we do.
Our doings are our meanings
They are driven from the soul
They pay no heed for profit
Or the stealing of a goal.
We live in thought to understand
What’s the meaning of this life?
Are we really lost and hopeless
So corrupted by the vice.

Find your faith in honest living
No regard to lost and past
Know the Lord is sat beside you
And your joy will live and last.
If we understand the meaning
We will never look ahead
If seek uncertain future
We’re as lifeless as the dead.
This is you – and now’s your time…..
You are all you feel and see
Pay attention to the moment
To find solace and be free.
Rejoice in your awareness
Your awakeness and your sight
And the Lord will shower blessings
Banish darkness – with His light.
"Know Thyself"
By Alan B.
"Resentment or contentment"
By Joanna
Resentment or contentment
You choose
It’s always there.
Burning
Underneath it all
Yearning
At the very core
Churning
Alarm bells ring
The bee stings
As the light is overpowered
And the child is soured
Its always there
Lurking
In the shadows
Smirking
Life or death
Flirting
The light dims
The dark sings
The seed flowered
I feel like a coward
Its always there
Watching
Hiding in the bushes
Stalking
The voices in my head
Talking
Pitying the past
Fearing the future
The wallflower
Trapped in a tower
The phenomenon of craving
Relationships paving
Again, I feel let down
My ego wears the crown
Addiction is cunning
Gunning
I’ve been abandoned
I have abandoned
My God
Stay 12 steps ahead
But its under the bed
Willing and waiting to be fed
How do I get out of my head?
Be with me God said
I start losing myself
When I stop choosing myself
Refusing the help
But I can’t forget how you felt
I keep confusing myself
Deluding myself
Chasing how it once felt
The cards have been dealt
I’m lost without your guidance
The cost of my defiance
Seeking self-reliance
Means I keep refusing your alliance
I need your love
Before self-destruct
"I start losing myself"
By Joanna
"I'm a weirdo"
By Joanna
They all think so
They all leave me alone
I’m a freak show
I’ve got no home
To call my own
They all leave eventually
Not long before they see
How toxic I can be
The real me
I’m a monster
So vulgar
Wish I was more like her
They all walk by
Look me in the eye
Then they run and hide
They talk so loud
They put me down
They don’t want me around
So I’ll stand out from the crowd
But they won’t hear a sound
I’m nowhere to be found
And eventually you’ll leave
I’m not worth it you’ll see
I’ll make it hard for you to breathe
I’m too weak
Got only myself to blame
I burn out every flame
I always make it rain
With my pain
Too broken for your love
Play pretend to earn you trusts
The shadows always win
You don’t know where I’ve been
I’m a sin