New Poetry!

Eleven new poems have been added to the Free Your Mind 'Creative Bank'

The first new entry is a submission from a writer known as 'Spizzie 69'.

Past the Expiry 
The Darkness deepens as the pointless Plot thickens And the Black Clouds Weep at the memories of the past.
They have now just become shadows that fade into the nothingness of time
The once effective have became the rejected and now put aside to become The forgotten
Like the autumn leaf that now falls to the ground with its use expired
to be absorbed back into the soil and become the muddy foot print of something that once was!
Or as easily disposed of as the discarded waste from the night before!
So as the sunsets for the long night ahead, often wondering if there will be a dawn?
No new Day? No new Hopes? No new Dreams? No Life? No existence?
Best Before!....... Sell by! ..........Use by! .........Warranty invalid!........ Sold as seen....Dispose of carefully.....and Please DO NOT RECYCLE!!!

The following (10) poems, which have also been added to the 'Creative Bank', were originally posted to my Myspace blog in May 2010 and April 2009.

~Nicola Edwards

Sonnet

Falling in love is a common affair; 
a task arranged to be an ultimate end
to the loneliness that I bear.
I want more than just a one-night stand; 
I’m looking for someone I can depend
on, and someone who is willing to care.
I want someone who will always be there.
To never know love just doesn’t seem fair.
They talk about love in songs and losing
your heart to the one they promised would come.
But, no knight in shining armour ever comes
to rescue me from life’s knocks and bruising.
So, I remain alone, my heart intact, 
not knowing if love is fiction or fact.

Science Fiction

What wouldn’t I give to travel with Kirk and Spock
and boldly go
where no man has gone before.
Or run with the Doctor where nothings ever slow. 
To enter the TARDIS and claim
“It’s bigger inside” before we go.
I’d leave this life and runaway.

Perhaps, 
if it were all real,
I wouldn’t plan this to be my final day.

Lies

Deep in the darkest part of her soul
is where her lover lies.

On the other side of the river, 
as far away from home as allowed, 
she lives a double life
which will bring her trouble and strife.
But her heart tells her it’s alright.

She has hidden her fear
that her lover will find out
she is another man’s wife.

  

Love Hurts

With all the will in the world I push him aside
until he is nothing
but a distant memory; 
until the pain he caused is fleeting.
No more will I be needing him. 
From here on out, 
it’s me, myself and I.
No more heartache, 
no more crying
with him I made a mistake.
From here on out 
I’m alone.

How I missed this painless bliss!

Lonely Woman

Whisky in hand,
in a dark, dingy bar.
It’s late and the bar is almost empty,
but the woman is unaware of the time
and even her
surroundings.
Only the no-smoking sign is apparent.
She downs her drink and rises from her stool.
Outside in the cold
she lifts a cigarette stick to her lips;
she inhales
and wonders what happier women do.
She exhales.
Time to call a cab; these streets aren’t safe for a lonely woman.

The Lonely Pupil

Troubled teenager, crouched in the corner
Shrouded in darkness, hair all a mess
Tear-stained face, lip split open
Covered in purple bruises.

The bell rings, and the student gathers her books,
Composes herself
Thinking how to explain away the damage
As the lonely pupil heads to her next class.

Do You See Me?

Do you notice I’m here?
Do you realize how I feel?

You’re oblivious
and it’s killing me.

Do you see me?
Do you even notice I’m standing right here?

My feelings run deep
and it hurts like tiny cuts.

Do you know I exist?
Do you even know I’m there?

My feelings for you
are like a cyst on my broken heart.

Will you ever notice me?
And how I can’t resist your tempting looks?

The End

The point-of-no-return
is getting closer.
Turning back
all I see is darkness
and the people I’ve left behind

Walking forward
I pick up my pace
making my heart race.
Unsure of what I’m heading toward
but I’m resilient and know I must carry on.

As I get closer
the light becomes brighter.
I’m scared of what lies ahead,
this path is unknown to me
and anyone who walks it.

I’m almost there now.
My breathing slows,
it becomes hard to think,
and my heart beats its final beat.
This is my stop. The end of the line.

Public Transport 

A curse on public transport

which bears the stench

of greasy takeaways;

and a curse on their sticky floor,

which invokes a sound like Velcro as you cross it to your seat.

A curse on public transport

for being unreliable, 

leaving me the commuter, 

to stand out in the drizzle.

A curse on public transport

for being a stifling oven 

in the summer,

and then below freezing in the winter.

But a final blessing on public transport

for without you I could not travel.....

On a bus

Looking out of a window
scenes rush by
- a woman drops her shopping –

on the bus a baby cries. 

Song of a Psychiatric Survivor (poem)

Recently I was sectioned for the fifth time in the past five years. I wrote the following poem during that period. ~ Nicola Edwards.


Song of a Psychiatric Survivor

They want to have control.
They want to always maintain the power. 

From the moment I was born,
Right up until my final hour. 

I've been beaten, I've raped;
At times I feel as though I'm lucky to be alive. 

But in the words of Gloria Gaynor
I know 'I will survive.'

The above poem will be added to the Creative Bank.

The FYM campaign took part in it's first public event in April this year...

Last month the Free Your Mind mental health campaign, aimed at helping to battle stigma towards mental illness by being creative, took part in it's first public event, which was an art exhibition called 'Broken Paths' at Croydon's Fairfield Halls.

Broken Paths organised by Imagine mental health charity's Croydon branch, and was also aimed at helping prevent stigma, prejudice and discrimination towards mental illnesses

The exhibition was held in the 'Sun Lounge' gallery at Fairfield Halls in Croydon and consisted of art, poetry, creative writing, and photography, all of which were works from some of the artists within South London's mental health community. Free Your Mind had six poems, displayed as graphic art, featured within the exhibit - all six of the featured poems were written by FYM's Nicola Edwards and can be found in the 'Creative Bank'.

The feedback received from the 'Broken Paths' art exhibition has been, and I know will be, very beneficial to the future plans and development of the Free Your Mind campaign. Over the next coming months our most immediate plans are to see the FYM team grow and develop.

We also hope that Broken Paths is the first of many public events which will include the involvement of the Free Your Mind mental health anti-stigma campaign.

Previous Blog Post: Upcoming 'Broken Paths' art exhibition at Croydon's Fairfield Halls.

The FYM 'Creative Bank'

The Free Your Mind Creative Bank was created with the intention of showcasing creativity - including art, poetry, videos, poetry, etc. - related to mental illness or FYM.

The Creative Bank will be constantly updated. And we more than welcome contributions; email us at freeyourmindcampaign@gmail.com.

The latest additions are:

New poem...

This doesn’t make any sense,
Why are they still shouting at me?
Their anger is unclear
And their motives seem strange

My vision is blurred
As I look through stormy eyes

There is no doubt I’ve done nothing wrong
And in my heart I know they’re afraid.

They want to make me feel ashamed
And deny our similarities
But right now I feel as if I’m gazing at their souls.
Whilst they continue to stare straight through me.

My skin is thicker than it looks
My pride is hard to infiltrate

My body and mind are tired
My fight and will remain strong

My defences are raised
As they declare war.

There is no doubt
That they will batter me to the ground.
But at the core I shall remain
Undefeated.

Art...

Visit the Creative Bank here.