Can’t believe that I have been on WordPress for just over a year. When I started out with Poetry pool, I didn’t know where it would take me. I started off focusing on poetry in the city; venues, events, workshops and where to get support as a poet. I then documented some of my experiences at open mic events. I shared some of my poetry too. I was enjoying engaging in this new world of poetry, expression and writing; a dream. The business cards had arrived through the post, the blog was filling up with posts. Then real life problems hit me. In the shape of mental health. A close family member’s wellbeing started to deteriorate. It’s been the toughest thing I have ever had to encounter.
My own counsellor and one of my writing buddies both encouraged me to keep writing. So I did. I started writing again by just writing a word at a time at the end of the day. Even if it was too painful. Just one word in my notebook. Some nights two, some nights three. Whatever I could manage. A feeling, a thought, a worry, a verse, a rant. Those words are there in those notebooks, recorded. An account of that period in time. A picture that comes to life when I join up all the pieces. Pieces that I’m turning into poems. Life/survival captured.
Those expressions of self, helped me get through, gave me a voice. Those words gave me hope, strength and helped me express my emotions when I needed to. And we are still fighting. Struggling, like so many people and families worldwide effected by mental health issues. But as a family we are all coping, in our own individual way. I don’t know what the future holds, but I will keep writing, even if it’s just a word, a blog post here and there, a chapter in a novel. Or even if it’s just for me, for my eyes, to remind me of what happened, so it’s not such a shock when I stop and think about it.
Poetry Pool 