For ages I was lost, lower and lower I’d sink

But now I am back, back from the brink

I’d lost everything I had, including my mind

But now I’m back with a bang, with all the strength I can find

The trick is to look at everything you see

And think to yourself “What’s the best for me?”

That bleak picture surrounded by a window frame

Is now my vibrant life … just with a different name

The bed which was my everything, my raft in a storm

Is now a tranquil haven, blissful and warm

Sadness, anxiety, sickness, doctors’ potions

Are replaced with contentment, peace and positive emotions

Demons in the stomach, filled with dread and doom

Are now butterfies of anticipation, free and loving the room

The people you think are so perfect and condone

Are all souls in this world with struggles of their own

For ages YOU were lost, lower and lower YOU would sink

But now have the strength to come back from the brink

With good mental health,

I have.

 

I have confidence

to speak.

I have friends

to confide.

I have balance

each week.

I have control;

No need to hide.

 

I have peace

in life.

I have joy

to live.

I have lease

to be me.

I have love

willing to thrive.

 

I have creativity

to express.

I have passion

in excess.

I have positivity

to share.

I have strength

for those in need.

 

With good mental health:

I have.

The mornings are dark this time of year 

but those friendly sounds each day I hear

kettle boiling, tea soon made

toast has popped up, where’s marmalade

Kitchen warmth around my back

now retired, no lunch to pack

a word out of fashion but which says it all 

is Nice, yes Nice, it’s ten feet tall

So once again I’ll gently yawn

and thank the Lord that I was born.

MY MOTHER

My Mother taught me to be independent and helped me ot become the person I am

 

My Mother’s name was Peggy,

 

she was born on June the 7^th.

 

Her parent’s names were Tom and Anne,

 

she was a gift from heaven.

 

 

 

My Mother had a brother,

 

but they did not get on well.

 

He thought she was embarrassing,

 

I was not there, it’s hard to tell.

 

 

 

My Mother went to Ballet,

 

when she was a little girl.

 

She loved it all so very much,

 

she became a real show girl.

 

 

 

My Mother joined a drama group,

 

she played a lot of parts.

 

As she gradually got older,

 

it became a very fine art.

 

 

 

My Mother went to college,

 

and became a very good teacher.

 

She married Dad, a really good match

 

he turned out to be a teacher.

 

 

 

My Mother had 3 children,

 

who were all born 3 weeks late,

 

Lucy didn’t want to come out,

 

But she was worth the wait.

 

 

 

My Mother was always there for us,

 

She loved us no matter what,

 

He love was unconditional,

 

She gave it all she’d got.

 

 

 

My Mother was my great support

 

as I had special needs,

 

For 39 years she fought for me,

 

And did many, many good deeds.

 

 

 

My Mother became a Grandmother,

 

To three boys and a girl.

 

She did not want to be called Gran,

 

they called her Peg, the pearl.

 

 

 

My Mother died years later in May,

 

At the age of 67,

 

She’d had a good life, we all would say.

 

                       And now she’s gone to heaven

 

Joy is a touch to a lonely hand

More meaningful if it isn’t planned

Joy is the wetness of a puppy’s nose

The dew on the petal of a fragrant rose

It’s the sound of a lazy meandering stream

It’s the waking from a magical dream

It’s the sun breaking through on a bright spring day

Keeping negative vibes at bay

It’s the hope in a prayer on a dark stormy night

Restoring our strength in life’s long fight

It’s the understanding when problems are tough

The calm that follows when seas are rough

It’s love and support for a loved one whose ill

More healing than any potion or pill

A voice bringing comfort on the end of the phone

Assuring you that you’re never alone

Joy is the smell of new mown grass

Following a winter that’s over at last

There’s joy in the feel of fresh fallen snow

In children’s faces alive and a glow

There’s joy in the trust of a lifelong friend

In the knowledge that the closeness will never end

Joy is 2 lovers holding hands

Embracing the future and making plans

There’s joy in finding new ways to cope

And being safe in the knowledge

There is always HOPE

Personalisation means choice and control

Renewed motivation to reach my goal

Individual budgets the vital key

Now I’m empowered happy and free

Direct payments have helped me

With the life that I live

Now I feel I have far more to give

A reason to get out of bed each day

Our needs all differ but that’s ok

New choices flexibility

Places to go and people to see

A PA whose a friend to share my days

Providing help and support in so many ways

I look to the future with new found hope

A new quality of life has helped me to cope

There’s no more need to keep raising our voices

The future is bright we’ve been given NEW CHOICES

My flesh is grass,

Trapped by dismissal,

Held under force by the blocks of convention.

But my roots are deep-set

In artisitic subversion

And I will thrust through

With the songs of dissension.

My spears will disrupt

The simple, the brutal

For I hold the seeds of

The complex, the fruitful.