Stephanie Hewitt – Hope

give things time..we’ll heal…we’ll smile..

Many thanks to Stephanie Hewitt for her entry to Voices. Stephanie’s mum, who is sadly unwell at present, provided the inspiration to the poem – and she loves her very much. The poem reminds us of how quickly life can change for better or for worse. We appreciate Stephanie’s kind decision to share.

Hope

Our lives are full of wonder..of how each day will be..

we hope it’s full of love..good health..but we have to wait and see..

Our lives can take a tumble..when we’re sure it’s turned out right..

It can turn our lives upside down..and darkness hides the light..

But don’t despair..be sad..or weep..It’s just a passing day..

give things time..we’ll heal…we’ll smile..Everything will be Ok..

Stephanie Hewitt, Great Ayton, North Yorkshire

Did you enjoy this poem? Why not visit Maggie’s website at: Maggie’s Centre Nottingham to find out more about their exceptional work and/or make a donation. Do you have a poem you would like to submit to Voices? Feel free to do so by email at: voicespoetry@outlook.com or via the ‘Contact’ page on this site.

We Are Blind – Caoilinn Hughes

It’s easy to ignore problems

Thank you Caoilinn Hughes for her potent and relevant offering to Voices. We appreciate her decision to share her work for a very good cause.

We Are Blind

We are blind to what we don’t want to see

And deaf to what we don’t want to hear

We accept the inequality in our world

And ignore all the hatred and fear

Global warming, plastic pollution

Oceans filled with waste

Starvation, thirst and poverty

Yet we remain stone faced

It’s easy to ignore problems

When helping is too hard

But if we open our eyes and ears to the world

At least that would be a start

Caoillin Hughes, 17

Come Home to the Hearth – Judith Bristow

Bathe in fire’s glow

We really appreciate Judith Bristow’s fantastic submission to Voices. Judith is an amateur musician and Early Years Practitioner living in Helston, Cornwall. She loves writing poetry ‘inspired by the sea, the art and gift of storytelling, and human compassion.’ Thank you Judith.

Come Home to the Hearth

Come home to the hearth

Where your ancestors wait

To embrace you in

bearskin, wool, cotton and lace

The twilight seeks in

The day is all won

By you, or some other

No matter – it’s done

Sit down by the warmth

Bathe in fire’s glow

Tell your stories – or not;

No matter, they know

Rest your head on old shoulders

Feel your hearts beat in time

Trust in the wisdom

Of your constant guides

Open your hands

Let the love come back in

You are safe and beloved

Next the hearth with your kin

Judith Bristow

Anxiety – Robert Phillips

The battle may be long

Thank you to Robert Phillips for his poignant offering to Voices. Embarking on a course of Creative Writing has been a life-changing experience for Robert and we really appreciate his decision to share ‘Anxiety’ with us. A former lorry driver, Robert states that writing ‘has totally changed my life for the better and has opened up many new challenges and opportunities to me.’

Anxiety

Anxiety is not needed
It’s something you choose to allow
Pressure from outside you
Like a grenade waiting to blow

You build it up
Let it smoulder
Then some one else
Lobs another one
Over your shoulder
It waits for you to reach
Your lowest point
And primes your brain
With constant doubt

It’s not liberating or expansive
Binding you in mental chains
It’s insular and destructive
Only anxiety chooses when
The chains can be lifted

Try to talk to someone
Family or stranger
Try hard to converse
You need help to lift this
Damned anxiety curse
Surely sharing can’t make
Your life or feelings any worse

Anxiety makes you feel
Weak and very brittle
Knowing your supported
Builds your armour
Just a little

The battle may be long
But fight with all your might
It’s you that must crusade
To find your shining light
Knowing you lead the charge
Not a spectator in the middle
Make it dance to your tune
Because many a good tune
Is played on an old fiddle

You control it
Don’t let it control you

Robert Phillips, 56

Senses of Music – Steve Fordington

Music harmonises the universe

Steve Fordington is a North Norfolk poet, lyricist, musician and teacher. He has written poetry all his life as well as playing and teaching several instruments. He is an active member of a Norfolk poetry circle and regularly performs in bands, groups and orchestras. He has published many compositions and was a schoolteacher and manager for nearly forty years.

Senses Of Music by Steve Fordington

Music – you can’t touch.

Yet music lets you feel.

It’s from imagination.

Yet music is so real.

Music – you can’t taste.

And yet it stirs your soul.

One note, one chord, a passing phrase

Brings back what memory stole.

It helps recall the sights,

The smells and raw regrets.

It fixes a moment frozen –

A diary point time forgets.

For music is our backdrop,

Our wallpaper of being.

Our collective inspiration

Of loving, knowing, seeing.

Its entity exists alone,

Away from instruments and scores.

No crowded media imposed,

Nor locked away indoors.

And like an everlasting strain

Of all life meant and more,

Music harmonises the universe

For futures gone before.

Steve Fordington, North Norfolk