Poetry by Consumers & Carers
2008 Annual Poetry Contest
Entries have now closed (11 April 2008)
Watch this space for the winning poems!
2007’s Annual Poetry Competition
These poems come from the hearts of so many.
We had a
record high of 193 poems by 97 consumers and carers (doubled from 2006) - possibly because the competition was highly publicized in 2007.
All who submitted their poems have experienced mental illness in some
way or another. Some have written poems for most of their lives, others may
have been first-timers. We cordially invite you to experience the creativity,
satire, fantasy, reality, humour, and wit of these poems.
Enjoy, and you may go on an emotional journey that you may never forget.... You can purchase the entire book of poems by clicking here..
First Prize: Eternal Hope - by Catherine Brauer
Sadness once had me,
With what once was
And what could never be
my emotions are at war with logic
It was, as if, overnight
my bubble of self-pity was gone.
Any past hurts I once had were now gone
And for that moment in time,
my fears for the future had no bearing on the here and now.
Without realising it, I had grown,
I had become a full circle.
What began as a journey both hidden and in the open for
all to see,
Raw, delicate and so very real.
Self discovery leads to revelations both new and old,
Emotions flicker,
Ghosts of the past revealing memories and my inner
foundations that trembled and shook,
now settle
and there lies within,
eternal hope
by Catherine Brauer
Desperate - by Patricia Stevenson
Within these four walls I sit, why do I have to sit within
walls couldn’t I sit within a wider space where people
mattered, conversations progressed.
I called out in the night, only echoes remain
unchanged battling fatigue I dreamed, I dreamed of
giving up medication forcing my heart to bleed in love
with love what a need, for I wake up, its 6am only a
dream.
2nd Prize: Silver Pearl - by Chris Langdon
silver pearl
rising from my cuppa,
glistening centred
white light on milky tea,
emerging bubbled
and perfectly formed
roundness radiant
in sepia-brown
the pearl submerges
At this angle
reappears glistening once more
like an oyster
with its translucent beauty
a kind heart opened
to share,
and submerges again
when I tilt the cuppa
away and towards,
a playful light,
and it dawns on me
my afternoon cuppa pearl
shares a resemblance
to the dining room
light fitting.
one mouthful drains
the pearl bare.
