Featured Poet - Anneli Power

A POEM FOR STAYING STRONG

A moment of peace

A moment of calm

Then all of a sudden I see you

And then there I am

Right back in that place 

In the bathroom, my meds, tears streaming down my face

I miss you still

Yet I know that you will

Have let me go by now

Moved on with your life 

Even though it was me

I was your life

And you were mine

But it’s time to start a new book

Turn over a new page

One where you are not there 

And I will be fine 

Alone for now but not for forever

As my true love will come along and we will be together 

So I don’t need to feel down 

Every time see pictures with hands around 

Baby bellies or revealing another diamond engagement ring

That’s THEIR thing now, not yours yet

But I am sure that my time will come, so please don’t fret 

The best people haven’t had an easy journey, you are not alone

You will have one day have everything, EVERYTHING, 

You wish you could call your own

Led Zep said it right, keep pushing on

Because there’s still time to change the road you’re on. 

ABOUT THE POEM: "I wrote this poem after seeing a picture of my ex on social media, and in that moment it kind of brought me back to the place I was in when we broke up - quite simply, despair. I started remembering all of the ways that my mental health and my OCD had sabotaged the relationship. To this day, I wonder if it was my fault the relationship ended. I talk in the poem about how seeing all my friends/peers in social media getting married, having babies etc., is very painful for me. I wrote this poem as a way of expressing these feelings and resolving them. I still have plenty of hope, which of course is evident as the poem progresses."

Note: The Led Zeppelin reference was one of my favourite song lyrics from Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’, “There’s still time to change the road you’re on”.

A POEM FOR CHRISTMAS

Well the tree is up, the lights are blinding, 

No one can deny these demons I have been fighting 

Or that I spent yesterday afternoon crying

Oh dear

It’s Christmas 

The most wonderful time of the year

Have I said too much? 

That’s what they say isn’t it? 

Keep quiet. Keep it together.

Conceal, don’t feel. 

But this isn’t Frozen, 

And life isn’t a movie

I have stood strong, as always

Persevered no matter what

And although things are hard, 

Things can get better, 

And they will

Remember your strength, always

And take comfort in time

Because in time you will heal.

ABOUT THE POEM: "This poem was written around Christmas, when I was continuing to struggle with my mental health. It makes it very clear that although Christmas is known as 'The most wonderful time of the year', the human mind and mental illness will continue to persist. This poem also shows the strength that is required to simply live with mental illness."

A POEM FOR CONFUSION

I feel so confused

I just wish I knew 

How to become this girl I want to be

How to manifest all of my biggest dreams

When I don’t even know what they are

I just can’t 

No matter how hard I try

Seem to catch a glimpse 

Of those greatest, deepest desires of my heart

It’s hard isn’t it

When you don’t know what you want 

Yet you know that you want it all

Ambition 

I leaves you eternally frustrated 

It’s hard enough reaching your dreams

When you don’t actually know where you wat to go

And when your soul is already so troubled 

By illnesses of the mind 

You’ll find the process unbearably slow

Like being a traffic light that simply won’t allow you to go

But I know

Somehow things will fall into place

I hope 

That things will soon start to make some proper sense 

So I will give it time

Take a deep breath 

You will be fine 

ABOUT THE POEM: "In this poem, I reflect on feeling stuck and not being sure what I want to do or where my life is going."

A POEM FOR FEELING HURT

H.U.R.T.

You were there for so long, then deserted me. 

So I breathe in

1, 2, 3

Then I stop because breathing escapes me

I am lost

Empty

A shell of a former me

28 but no longer willing to wait and see

Where life will take me

As hope is dwindling 

Dwindling 

Down

But still part of me hopes things will change, 

Things WILL change

The more I say it the more I believe it

How beautiful it sounds too, 

Maybe all hope is not lost

Maybe, just maybe

My life will become everything I want it to be. 

And I’ll finally be free. 

ABOUT THE POEM: "This poem is a representation of a mix of relationships with severe mental health issues, and was written not long after a break up with someone who I thought was the one. I lament on how mental health problems have held me back in every aspect of my life, and how the people I love and care about often end up deserting me. I tried to add a little sprinkle of hope towards the end of the poem, as in spite of everything, there is always hope."

A POEM FOR OCD

It starts like this.

She’s just interested, curious.

She wants to know more.

What did you say? Do you think that?

It begins with some innocent questions.

But then it starts to endure.

Her manner changes.

A faulty smile becomes a frown.

The desperation in her voice is obvious now.

Do you really think that? Do you??

She just needs some reassurance, she says

Mummy ...

Daddy ...

Please!!!

Clear is it now of her intentions.

She isn’t just curious. She doesn’t just want to know.

She NEEDS to know.

Answer me!!!

She is sweating, her voice cracking.

Silence ensues and it is deafening.

She thinks certainty is what she needs.

When in fact, to get better.

She must learn to live...

With the uncertainty.

ABOUT THE POEM: "I actually wrote this poem last year, as a way of trying to express how my OCD manifests itself, and one of these ways is in asking for reassurance. Not just once (those with OCD will know that once is rarely enough), and repeatedly. Generally it comes about from an intolerance of uncertainty and feeling like you need an answer. However, continuously giving someone with OCD the certainty that they seek is a fatal mistake that friends, family and loved ones often make, and it only fuels the fire of OCD. This is a poem that describes what someone with this kind of OCD experiences, along with their friends or family."

POEM FOR SELF ESTEEM

I know I’m enough

I say to myself 

It takes a lot of repeating 

For me to believe it myself 

But it’s still not enough 

I can’t help but check again

The amount of views, likes, once, twice

It’s not enough 

No one seems to care 

About my talent, my life I’ve laid bare

Why don’t they care? 

It isn’t fair, I hear inside my head

Everyone else has it all 

Masses of followers, supporters

That they call their own

They’re so well known

But girl you know

They are just strangers

A bunch of people you don’t know

And those who really matter are those around you

Your family, friends who will always love you

You don’t need strangers to say 

That what you say is worth listening to

Because it is you 

And only you

That can give you the love you need

Because you see you can have all of the love from your so called followers

But there is more to life than doing the things you love for others

And forgetting about yourself

Remember this, for it is true

All you need to do is

Do this for you and only you.

ABOUT THE POEM: "This poem describes the obsession that I often develop with the amount of likes, comments, or attention I get on social media. I was trying to make the point that you should do things for you and not care what people think!"