Heath Park Lodge

Art led to poetry Stepping-stone back to college An odd circle of friends Dysfunctional, suicidal, cast aside Indictment of the system Of a life gone wrong They taught me friendship Self-worth to an underdog Failed in men’s eyes Caught off-guard by kindness Here, now, I became wise At the desert’s bare rib The least is

Chilli bottle

There is a chilli bottle inside my tummy, that is unleashed when I’m feeling anxious or worried about something,   When it explodes, boy do I know I’m in trouble,   Because the pain is awful, like hot stitches working their way to my side,   I feel like I’m going to be sick, my

North Hill house

Leeds took me back I never gave up Honours graduate in Arts Lauded praise from the Dean Shook my hand Said I succeeded against all the odds A toast from fellow students at the Skyrack A parting gift to one who found his feet Proving all wrong Until unforeseen alien voices Burned night and day

The Sanitorium

In the night A civilisation’s bare rib exposed In the night knowing fear Of a life gone wrong Days spent learning to love myself again Cranks and eccentrics on a ward Flotsam and jetsam knowing more young academic come unstuck Sat frozen by day by the lake In the park Reading Neanaponika Thera Kerouac, Roethke,

Don’t judge a book by its cover

On the outside I look Confident, and always seem so jolly, But don’t be fooled by the smile I wear, it’s just my little folly. On the inside I am crying, with pain and hurt and fear, I don’t tell anybody, I feel like no-one wants to hear. For who would want to hear about

Scarred Minds and Desert Places Poem

ROOM NUMBER 52 Table, chairs, bookshelves and a bed Student cell over-looking Finely cut green lawns Northern redbrick university Oh, Brave New World Free love art poetry An angry young man Brain fired by word and paint And those solemn pretty girls A faded memory Only the signed accolade And a legacy of self-doubt All

Mortain Hall

Room number 52 Table, chairs, bookshelves and a bed Student cell overolooking Finely cut green lawns Northern red-brick University Oh, Brave New World Free love art poerty An angry young man Brain fired by word and paint And those solemn pretty girls A faded memory Only the signed accolade And a legacy of self-doubt All