Standing alone, standing still,

Find the moment I am in,

Breath deeply, close my eyes,

Find the gratitude within.

The wind blows upon my face,

The trees sway to and fro,

The leaves play around my feet,

Dancing  hiigh and  low.

I will not let the darkness,

Start to creep up my spine,

I am in control,

This peace is all mine

The secret I now know,

Is to find positives in life,

My world is full of beauty,

Opportunity  not strife.

I am  so very blessed,

Love, shelter, water, food,

I understand the universe,

Happiness is gratitude.

Lisa collects a handmade hardback book

She will be presented with this at the House of Lords on the 1st May 2013

Congratulations from all of us at !!

Her work will feature in The Yellow Book going nationwide

Selected Poetry Entries for The Yellow Book please click the titles to view:

1. I Feel Life – Ella Zellaby – Rochester Kent
2. This World – Stephanie Rose – Bo’ness Scotland
3. Lift Your Voice – David Holloway – Bedford
4. Mirror – Saiqa Parveen – Halifax
5. With Good Mental Health – Anne Broadbent – West Yorkshire
6. Meadering – Peter McGrath – Essex
7. Senses – Jade Tullet – Berkshire
8. The Wren – Ian Curtress – Cheltenham
9. Recovery – Lesley Burt – Dorset
10. A Home in my Head – Karen Mason – Surrey
11. Freedom is Ours – Gemma Rose – East Sussex
12. Beauty – Debee Ebeneezer – Nottingham
13. It is Ok – Suzanne Bate – Liverpool
14. Happiness is Gratitude – Lisa Barry – Rhondda Cynon Taft
15. I’ve Changed – Louise Gillett – Christchurch Dorset
16. Sunny Side Up – Karim Harvey – London
17. Proud to be me – Denise Claxton – Essex
18. Daylight after Rain – John Campbell – London
19. I Can See The Colour and I Can Feel The Sun – Elizabeth Aldous – Luton
20. Free To Be Me – Diana Hayes – Abergavenny
21. Bus Journey – Safoora Masood – Halifax
22. There Once Was a Young Girl From Wales – Katy Young – Flintshire
23. See the Flowers Beneath Your Feet – Anonymous
24. I Know – Kauser Parveen – Halifax

Congratulations from all of us at !!

The scene: a serene lake

Shining with energy bursting,

Bright and beautiful and believing.

And on the lake I lay,

Allowing the glow of nature,

To crown me majesty.

I float freely with the calm,

Floating weightlessly; floating aimlessly,

No worries, no shackles holding me.

I am free to fly, I am free to cry

In awe and amazement

At the warmth of the world,

That surrounds me, loves me,

And allows the freedom to surge,

Allows me to just be:

No title, no expectations daunting.

I am nature’s child. I am me.

And when the sun hides

And the moon haunts,

The water hushes and shushes,

Humming me to peaceful sleep.

With Good Mental Health I have….                    Geraldine Walsh-Whiteside

With good mental health I have

Turned my baby step into a longer stride

I now know better than to run and hide

I jump and I seek, no more am I meek.

With good mental health I have

Gained new insight into me,

 Now everything’s not a catastrophe

All things are possible, I truly believe,

I no longer sit alone and grieve.

With good mental health I have

Been able to meet and have a laugh

Or take sheer delight in a bubbly bath

I now sing and I dance

And don’t walk around in a trance.

With good mental health I have

Turned my fight into a cause

Only to reflect do I sit or pause

With help and support

We can all be re-taught.

With good mental health I have

Recaptured and re-invented my world

Who knew how this story would have unfurled

How I re-entered your life anew

The journey maybe long but it’s worth it too!

In Good and Bad Mental Health

In good mental health my poet’s heart sings

In bad mental health my hands just wring

In good mental health I smile and create

In bad mental health I scowl and I hate

In good mental health I fly and I soar

In bad mental health I fear I’m a bore

In good mental health I will face the task

In bad mental health I will wear a mask

In good mental health I have capability

In bad mental health I have disability

In good mental health I think I’m a writer

In bad mental health I am a prize-fighter

In good mental health I have credibility

In bad mental health I have durability

My mental health is good today

For me to share and show the way!

I woke up on a morning bright

With snow laden trees gleeming bright

The silence, silence everywhere

But church bells rang out loud and clear

Across snow crowned trees

And frosty grass but n’er a bee

The snowdrops push their way up high

To greet the day and reach the sky

What better start to a day

Than thinking of your God to pray

For peace on Earth and Love for all

Life calls to me, and I recall

All the majesty of Life

Of living life without  strife

Oh, praise the Peace and Silence too

This is life beckoning you anew.

I am not bound by calculation, order or reserve,

I am free to be chaotic, inspired and reckless.

I am not controlled by order, discipline or symmetry,

I am free to be spontaneous, impulsive and embarrassed.

I am not afraid of freedom, thought or intrusions,

I am strong,

I can heal,

I am free.

Being with good mental health, for me, is really very hard to explain
Without people understanding what bad mental health is like.
It’s not just about being happy, there’s more to it than that.

Good mental health is the absence of all those destructive thoughts
That make you think your every move is being watched;
That make you avoid going out in the fear that you will be judged.
It’s having the courage to drag yourself out of bed in the morning
To go get that bottle of milk that you have needed for 3 days,
But couldn’t.

It’s being able to talk to your family without getting angry,
Simply because they asked you if you were going out to see friends later.
Having good mental health is realising what and, most importantly, who
Is good for you, and having the sense to stay away from what’s bad.
It’s taking back the control you had misplaced and taking responsibility
For yourself.

Once it is within your grasp, you regain your clarity of mind
And you can finally start to work out what it is that YOU want to do.
You can work out what YOU truly believe and you can stand for it.
It’s accepting that you’re different and using that to your advantage;
That you ARE interesting and that you DO have something
Important to say.

Going from bad mental health to good mental health is rising like a phoenix – wait, no.
It’s like Athena rising, fully grown, with a new divine wisdom;
Armed and ready to fight anything that may stand in your way.

Hear that swish of a tail,

The buzz of a bee,

The post of the mail,

The sound of the sea,
 

Taste the salt in the rain,

The icing of cake,

The new harvested grain,

The chocolate milkshake,

See the birds in the sky,

The frost on the leaves,

The rivers running by,

The gently swaying trees,

Smell the freshly cut grass,

The seaweed on rocks,

The newly polished brass,

The den of a fox,

Feel that touch of a hand,

The kiss on a cheek,

The smoothness of the sand,

The mud under feet,

You are all these senses,

All that you do find,

Past, present, future tenses,

All part of your mind.

Jade collects a handmade hardback book

She will be presented with this at the House of Lords on the 1st May 2013

Congratulations from all of us at !!

Her work will feature in The Yellow Book going nationwide

Selected Poetry Entries for The Yellow Book please click the titles to view:

1. I Feel Life – Ella Zellaby – Rochester Kent
2. This World – Stephanie Rose – Bo’ness Scotland
3. Lift Your Voice – David Holloway – Bedford
4. Mirror – Saiqa Parveen – Halifax
5. With Good Mental Health – Anne Broadbent – West Yorkshire
6. Meadering – Peter McGrath – Essex
7. Senses – Jade Tullet – Berkshire
8. The Wren – Ian Curtress – Cheltenham
9. Recovery – Lesley Burt – Dorset
10. A Home in my Head – Karen Mason – Surrey
11. Freedom is Ours – Gemma Rose – East Sussex
12. Beauty – Debee Ebeneezer – Nottingham
13. It is Ok – Suzanne Bate – Liverpool
14. Happiness is Gratitude – Lisa Barry – Rhondda Cynon Taft
15. I’ve Changed – Louise Gillett – Christchurch Dorset
16. Sunny Side Up – Karim Harvey – London
17. Proud to be me – Denise Claxton – Essex
18. Daylight after Rain – John Campbell – London
19. I Can See The Colour and I Can Feel The Sun – Elizabeth Aldous – Luton
20. Free To Be Me – Diana Hayes – Abergavenny
21. Bus Journey – Safoora Masood – Halifax
22. There Once Was a Young Girl From Wales – Katy Young – Flintshire
23. See the Flowers Beneath Your Feet – Anonymous
24. I Know – Kauser Parveen – Halifax

Congratulations from all of us at !!