Poems from our carers
A collection of poems written by our young carers and adult carers.
GIVE US A BREAK
By Spiridiona
YOU MARRIED YOUR HUSBAND WHEN HE WAS BLIND SOME PEOPLE COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
IT WAS THEM WHO WERE BLIND NOT HIM
BEING NARROW MINDED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
HOW CAN YOUR HUSBAND PLAY THE PIANO
IS HE REALLY BLIND HE MUST SEE A BIT
BEING NARROW MINDED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
HE CAN PLAY GUITAR AS WELL
BEING NARROW MINDED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
CAN HE REALLY SWIM WITHOUT AID
BEING NARROW MINDED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
YOU HAD A DAUGHTER TOGETHER
BEING NARROW MINDED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
CAN HE DRESS BY HIMSELF
BEING NARROW MINDED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
YOU WATCH TELEVISION TOGETHER
BEING NARROW MINDED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
HE DOES DIGITAL ART ON HIS OWN COMPUTER
BEING NARROW MINDED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
YOU TOOK HIM ON HOLIDAY WITH YOU
BEING NARROW MINDED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT
WAKE UP
By an adult carer
MY MOTHER IS CALLING,
SHE NEEDS TO BE CHANGED,
SHE NEEDS THE BATHROOM,
SHE NEEDS A DRINK.
I WAKE UP.
IT’S 2AM IN THE MORNING.
I GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS,
GETTING MY MOTHER OUT OF BED,
TO THE BATHROOM,
CHANGING SHEETS,
MAKING HER A CUP OF TEA.
FOUR HOURS LATER
SHE IS BACK IN BED,
THE SUN IS COMING UP,
SHE KISSES ME GOOD NIGHT,
SHE THANKS ME.
SHE IS SO FEEBLE
I FEEL ANGRY AND GUILTY
AT THE SAME TIME.
SHE IS THE CHILD,
I AM THE MOTHER,
OUR ROLES ARE REVERSED.
SILENCE
By Saphire
Hear it or not
My world is shaped by silence
The silence that says
Wait they won't understand
That says no you're better off with me
So
I continue walking on floorboards that never seem to creek
Masking the tears so your worry disappears
Into my illusion if courage and strength
I'm tired of screaming in silence
Running from my caged cries
Pleading for help through my battle called life
In my short 18 years on this planet
It already feels like i'm carrying its weight
With
The life decisions
Responsibilities
Exam timetables
Heartbreaks
No dates
Too much cake
The bullies
Lives lost
CARERS' REFLECTIONS
By Spiridiona
WHEN I MET BILL SINGING AND PLAYING GUITAR
I NEVER THOUGHT THINGS WOULD GO SO FAR
AN UNFORGETTABLE DAY IN JULY
OUR HEARTS A FLUTTER LIKE A BUTTERFLY
A YEAR AND A HALF LATER CAME MARTINE
OUR BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER LOOKING SO SERENE
MY LIFE BECAME FULL AS CAN BE
A FULL TIME JOB A BLIND HUSBAND AND A BABY
I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED A CHALLENGE
THROUGH HARD WORK MY ROLES I MANAGE
UNTIL ONE DAY MY IMMUNE SYSTEM
PINNED ME DOWN DISTURBED MY RHYTHM
I HAD NEVER HEARD OF ASTHMA
NOR OF RETROLENTAL FIBROPLASIA
AN EYE CONDITION BILL ACQUIRED
EXCESSIVE OXYGEN BEING FIRED
MUSIC REIGNS THROUGHOUT BILL’S LIFE
PLAYING HAPPILY WITHOUT STRIFE
THOSE WHO SEE HIM MUSIC PLAY
HAVE NEVER SEEN THE LIGHT OF THE DAY
FOR MANY YEARS HE’S VOLUNTEERED
WITH HIS MUSIC COMMUNITIES STEERED
PASSED HIS TALENT TO OUR DAUGHTER
WHO DISPLAYS IT WITHOUT FALTER
HE PLAYS CRICKET DOES ICE SKATING
HE HAS WRITTEN WITHOUT SHAKING
HIS STORIES HIGHLY COMMENDED
DIGITAL ART APTLY PRESENTED
MY HUSBAND GIVES ME DELIGHT
MAKES MY CARING VERY LIGHT
TO THOSE WHO QUESTION WITHOUT FIGHT
HUMBLY DON’T MISUSE YOUR MIGHT
FROM BOY TO MAN
By Silvia
My boy has grown into a kind young man and like a plant he is strong but sensitive.
Although he is a man now, he is still my boy.
I wrapped my arms around him and said “I LOVE YOU”
I have been caring for you since birth and when you are confused,
I am here for you.
His inner voice tells him be calm and you are not alone because you have the love of your mother for life!
MY FIRST HOSPITAL VISIT
By Shantavia
9 years old, skipping through the halls of a sanitised prison.
Happy i was able to escape school early.
I looked into the windows and saw nothing but empty vessels coughing, wheezing, shouting.
My grandfather scrunches his face into a false facade of a smile, a fake grin, that was supposed to calm me.
I like to think that she was in room 16 cuz that number was quite unlucky for me.
But I remember the room was clean.
And so was she, too clean,
She looked like a doll
Carefully contorted into a curved position on the bed,
her eyes looked blank,
but then as she turned towards me,
much like her father her beautiful face slithered into a stiff sinister smile,
making me doubt it was really my mother.
Tears gathered in my eyes as i saw
my goddess, hopelessly laid out on a hospital bed,
looking like a cyborg with all the cables coming out of her.
I ran out the room as i refused to accept that this inhuman beast
was my mother,
I thought it was an alien shapeshifter that didn’t know how to impersonate her immaculate smile and beauty.
An ultra-smart alien that couldn’t figure out how to copy the sparkle in her eye or the fight in her spirit.