Thursday 3rd October is National Poetry Day, a mass celebration of poetry first created in 1994 to to ‘prove that poetry has a place in everyone’s life’.
Writing poetry can be a creative and therapeutic way to process experiences and emotions which can otherwise be hard to articulate. A resident staying in our domestic abuse refuge wrote the below poem, to share her experience of fleeing abuse and moving into refuge with her son:
I can’t believe it was 2022 we moved here
So, I left behind my heartache and wiped away the cold tear
All the way here I thought “Am I making a mistake?”
But that’s the chance I had to take
I now feel a lot more calm
Feeling safe, knowing I won’t come to any more harm
All the staff here are very kind
If you have a problem they listen and don’t seem to mind
It’s nice to go out and not worry about going home
Me and my son are free to roam
It’s great to see my family every Friday and Saturday
Waking with a twinkle in my eye and a smile on my face everyday
Going out and discovering new places
Meeting new and old friends with smiles on everyone’s faces
All that’s left is for my son and myself to let out a huge cheer
And say thank you for letting us stay here
We are grateful to our client for writing this powerful and beautiful poem to share her story, and we are pleased to hear how far she has come in her journey.