I like to grow green things in my garden

Will somebody want to share my green fingers?

I will be happy to pick some green vegetables for you

So you can cook nice food for dinner

More determined than ever I can’t believe

I’ve found it at my leisure

It brings freedom and love and great pleasure

It will give me all I lost and more without measure

For where your heart is there is your treasure

As I open my treasure the gates open wide

Now in I run with a great stride

It’s my destiny I found my course

With healing and love from it’s great source

“What is your treasure? I hear you moan”

“I don’t know you must find your own”

“If it frees your heart and frees your mind

and you find yourself on higher ground”

YOUR TREASURE YOU HAVE FOUND!

Yeah it can be hard, tougher but heavy as lard

Sometimes keeps you in your yard

To the point I’m now physically scarred

But as I stood so tall to say

“There is a better way”

I began to see how this God given LIFE

Can positively benefit me

Like, learning and self-training to become an

Original Rhymer M.C.

Gradually this opened many doors

Of opportunity

My self-esteem grew greatly

To stand against paranoid schizophrenia

And perform to one day a whole arena

I destroy symptoms as I flow

Beautiful rhythms

This is worth the fight

Turn pain in to delight …

Every day new joys appear

As it’s my Father’s voice I hear

Which helps me through my healing

Smiles and happiness I’m feeling

I never thought I’d get this far

But I’ve finally stepped over that bar

That’s allowed me to move onwards

My whole recovery’s now going upwards

I pray each day and each night

I’m never going to give up this fight

One day I’ll be free

Something I never thought I’d see

Life has never been so great

No more of the things I hate

And with the help of the Father, Spirit and Son

I can finally say that I’ve moved on

Let me meander with your mind awhile my child,

celebrate this time, this time.

Here to stay your sun to shine,

with me and mine a sweet surprise.

All your colours call to me,

fascinating my realities,

instilling scenes within the scenes,

‘cause all we’re left we dream unseen.

Quietly unlock my doors,

and answer what we see inside.

Your silent roar beside me now

like mountain-tops within my mind,

Meandering……

Peter collects a handmade hardback book

He will be presented with this at the House of Lords on the 1st May 2013

Congratulations from all of us at !!

His work will feature in The Yellow Book going nationwide

Selected Poetry Entries for The Yellow Book please click the titles to view:

• I Feel Life – Ella Zellaby – Rochester Kent
• This World – Stephanie Rose – Bo’ness Scotland
• Lift Your Voice – David Holloway – Bedford
• Mirror – Saiqa Parveen – Halifax
• With Good Mental Health – Anne Broadbent – West Yorkshire
• Meandering – Peter McGrath – Essex
• Senses – Jade Tullet – Berkshire
• The Wren – Ian Curtress – Cheltenham
• Recovery – Lesley Burt – Dorset
• A Home in my Head – Karen Mason – Surrey
• Freedom is Ours – Gemma Rose – East Sussex
• Beauty – Debee Ebeneezer – Nottingham
• It is Ok – Suzanne Bate – Liverpool
• Happiness is Gratitude – Lisa Barry – Rhondda Cynon Taft
• I’ve Changed – Louise Gillett – Christchurch Dorset
• Sunny Side Up – Karim Harvey – London
• Proud to be me – Denise Claxton – Essex
• Daylight after Rain – John Campbell – London
• I Can See The Colour and I Can Feel The Sun – Elizabeth Aldous – Luton
• Free To Be Me – Diana Hayes – Abergavenny
• Bus Journey – Safoora Masood – Halifax
• There Once Was a Young Girl From Wales – Katy Young – Flintshire
• See the Flowers Beneath Your Feet – Anonymous
• I Know – Kauser Parveen – Halifax

Congratulations from all of us at !!

With good mental health
I have purpose and direction
decentment
good concentration
my needs are met
nourishment and affection
aroof over my head
Companionship, home
mental stimulation
&  I’m working towards
an even better
Future, honourable employment
yes a goodjob now
AND not incarceration

With positive mental health, I don’t depend on slogans and ‘prescriptions, ‘

Or let myself be limited by negative projections and descriptions.

With positive mental health, I can show my ability and my vulnerability,

I can become more fully human, knowing that ‘joy and woe are woven fine.’

I can learn that patient waiting and creative reflection are just as important

as immediate success and constant striving.

I can devote myself to ‘living’ instead of just surviving.

POETRY AND TIME

Poetry can reveal

Depth in time,

The co-existence

Of past, present and future,

The moment of unity

And wholeness of Being.

Such poems are a celebration

Of the dance of creation.

Given fleeting form in the speaking,

They slip away into the night,

Defying immediate analysis

In favour of relationship –

Revealing hidden connections.

Old familiar words take on

New form and resonance,

Like old familiar rocks

That erode and blow as

Shifting sand into the desert.

Poetry is the time-lapse

Photography of the soul,

It relates the fragment

To the Whole

Tony Devaney

With Good Mental Health I have space and slience, space to speak my truth:

My mind, now ordered in a common form,

I savour, simplified, a life mundane

Of clarity, perceived within the norm-

A fitness, fitting here, within the frame.

Observing pattern in the common race

I grasp, with gentle hand, its fractal light-

Not forcing, easing gently to my place,

I find myself at home with calm delight.

This early, springtime lightfall dearly won,

Illuminates a placement safe within,

As young leaves, budding in the morning sun

A place among the branching patterns win.

I would such freshness, as I here have found,

Could be forever held in mind, now sound.

I’ve Changed

(A song on the theme: ‘With good mental health, I have’)

I’ve changed

Again

I’ve come in out of the rain

And I feel fine

Again

I was lonely, I was sad

Did not consider that I could

Evade the pain

But now I’ve changed again

And I am glad

I’m here

Again

I’ve understood that life is good

Again

I’m learning to appreciate again

And it’s not bad

There’s hope

Again

I’m learning to communicate again

And it’s all good

Sing my refrain…

I’ve changed

Again

And it’s all good again

I’m learning to appreciate…

I’m glad

Oh yes, I’m glad again.

Louise collects a handmade hardback book

She will be presented with this at the House of Lords on the 1st May 2013

Congratulations from all of us at !!

Her work will feature in The Yellow Book going nationwide

Selected Poetry Entries for The Yellow Book please click the titles to view:

• I Feel Life – Ella Zellaby – Rochester Kent
• This World – Stephanie Rose – Bo’ness Scotland
• Lift Your Voice – David Holloway – Bedford
• Mirror – Saiqa Parveen – Halifax
• With Good Mental Health – Anne Broadbent – West Yorkshire
• Meandering – Peter McGrath – Essex
• Senses – Jade Tullet – Berkshire
• The Wren – Ian Curtress – Cheltenham
• Recovery – Lesley Burt – Dorset
• A Home in my Head – Karen Mason – Surrey
• Freedom is Ours – Gemma Rose – East Sussex
• Beauty – Debee Ebeneezer – Nottingham
• It is Ok – Suzanne Bate – Liverpool
• Happiness is Gratitude – Lisa Barry – Rhondda Cynon Taft
• I’ve Changed – Louise Gillett – Christchurch Dorset
• Sunny Side Up – Karim Harvey – London
• Proud to be me – Denise Claxton – Essex
• Daylight after Rain – John Campbell – London
• I Can See The Colour and I Can Feel The Sun – Elizabeth Aldous – Luton
• Free To Be Me – Diana Hayes – Abergavenny
• Bus Journey – Safoora Masood – Halifax
• There Once Was a Young Girl From Wales – Katy Young – Flintshire
• See the Flowers Beneath Your Feet – Anonymous
• I Know – Kauser Parveen – Halifax

Congratulations from all of us at !!

With good mental health,

I see the light

I look all around

And all is bright.

With good mental health,

I feel fit and ready

I can go out and be active

Work keeps me steady.

With good mental health,

I show my love

I can express to others

All I’ve been thinking of.

With good mental health,

I seize the day

I look all around me

And everything’s okay.

MOVING ON, SINGING A SONG.

She read one of her poems on TV.

For all the world to hear and see.

She also spoke softly of all her pain,

To show all the world what she had gained.

To the magazines she told her story,

To show the world, the before, the after, then the glory.

On the radio she told what it was like,

She told the world while she held the mike.

For ten whole years she answered letters from far and near,

From others who also had the fear.

Then one day she just gave it all up, and said no more.

AGORAPHOBIA, you won’t come back to my door,

It’s time to put you in the past where you belong.

While she goes off to sing a song,

At little Ps, the Methodists or J.A.M.

Singing nursery rhymes, just being NAN,

And maybe in her spare time,

She will still write the occasional rhyme.

I pray to god night and day

To guild me the right way

The strength I need to be-

Strong and believe in myself

To have good positive mental health

To be happy and joyful within

To live a life with out any sin

But sometimes he can be forgotten

When I’ve hit rock bottom

My life has had its ups and downs

But with good mental health-

I’ve turned my life around

I’ve travelled though depths of hell

I wonder if you can even tell

Because theses days my mental health is stable

And now I’m able- to stand up tall

What was once big is now small

No matter what life brings me now

I can face it some how

No bad voices harming me

Living life without worry

Quite happy and freely

With good mental health-

I can face each day with glee!

Queen bees quiver, skylarks sing,

Slowworms slither, cowbells ring,

Babies gurgle, children laugh

At the first made bleat of a precious calf.

With good mental health I hear

Spring’s vibrations in my ear.

Greenfly graze and locusts leap,

Lizards laze, spiders creep,

Bunnies lollop, farmhands banter,

March hares hop and ponies canter

In wildflower fields where monkey orchids grow,

The faithful wind their seeds did sow.

With good mental health I see

Boundless blessings life has given me.

The breeze blows, sun radiates,

Upon the lake a water boatman skates.

A hungry otter licks his lips

As a fantail darter flips,

A heron scales overhead,

Trepidly the terrapins tread.

With good mental health I have found

Life breaking through the ground.

Snow melts and freezes thaw,

Raw wounds heal and hurt no more.

Dark clouds eventually give way to sun,

Through new eyes downpours can be fun.

With good mental health I know

Through the tough times I will grow.

Over mountains and valleys I climb,

Discovering beauty so sublime,

Running fast and breaking free

From incessant worries that were haunting me.

Feeling that fortuitous state of flow,

Moving forward, on I go.

With good mental health I find

A healthy body and sound mind.

A squall erupts and thunder rumbles by,

Lightening illuminates the sky.

The heavens open, puddles form,

Peacocks parade a rain dance on the lawn.

Water worms wiggle in the streams,

Out of frogspawn new life teams.

Sanderlings saunter, crows caw,

On the thermals seagulls soar.

With good mental health I lift my eyes

Marvelling at majestic ever changing skies.

Reflecting a world of beauty, the lake is a mirror,

And in its glistening surface I see

The meaning of a life: fruitful and free.

The crystal water, clarity of mind and soul,

Ripples as a row boat glides through.

Soon settling again to natural order

Where change is positive. Restorative.

The landscape’s mirror image,

Implanted brightly as the sun bursts forth,

Brings perfection in reflection. Balanced;

Free from distortion. Tranquillity.

Beneath the surface, the living world blossoms.

Interconnected, it thrives with darkness and light;

A place for everything; justified juxtaposition

Emitting calmness from chaos. Peace.

Around the lake, people and businesses hum

Their reassured rhythm of everyday life, as

Maximising value of simple things

They weave webs, roots, connections. Stability.

Reflecting a world of beauty, the lake is a mirror,

And in its glistening surface I see

The meaning of a life: fruitful and free.

Thank You

How do you thank someone for giving you twenty-five years of extra life

Yes twenty-five years extra, Of being a Mother, Nanny and Wife.

How do you thank someone for being there for you

When you were so ill, you didn’t know what to do.

You thank them by, now being the person you want to be

And showing the world on live TV.

You thank them by doing all the things you never got the chance to do before.

When you couldn’t even venture out the door.

You thank them by living your life in the fast lane again

Now you are free of the nightmare, free of the pain.

You thank them by shopping at a packed Sheffield Meadow hall

A couple of weeks before Christmas, you are having a ball

You thank them by going to see your favourite singer Cliff

You sit there with 12,000 people just to do this.

You thank them by running a helpline for others

Meeting fantastic people along the way

You thank them by living your life day by day

You thank them by just being you,

You thank them in everything that you do.

No more grey mornings even when its winter and the sky is dull,

I can see the colours of the trees, I can now admire the beauty of the leaves,

people smile and say good morning , I can smile and greet them back,

NO more dread ,no more darkness , no amount of money can buy me this feeling

the simple things ,a cup of coffee ,a walk with my dog and laughter with old friends,

the things I had feared I have lost had never gone away, just hidden.

But best of all once again

I can feel the sun .

Elizabeth collects a handmade hardback book

She will be presented with this at the House of Lords on the 1st May 2013

Congratulations from all of us at !!

Her work will feature in The Yellow Book going nationwide

Elizabeth’s photograph was also selected to appear in The Yellow Book by the art assessors

Please click the image below:

Selected Poetry Entries for The Yellow Book please click the titles to view:

• I Feel Life – Ella Zellaby – Rochester Kent
• This World – Stephanie Rose – Bo’ness Scotland
• Lift Your Voice – David Holloway – Bedford
• Mirror – Saiqa Parveen – Halifax
• With Good Mental Health – Anne Broadbent – West Yorkshire
• Meandering – Peter McGrath – Essex
• Senses – Jade Tullet – Berkshire
• The Wren – Ian Curtress – Cheltenham
• Recovery – Lesley Burt – Dorset
• A Home in my Head – Karen Mason – Surrey
• Freedom is Ours – Gemma Rose – East Sussex
• Beauty – Debee Ebeneezer – Nottingham
• It is Ok – Suzanne Bate – Liverpool
• Happiness is Gratitude – Lisa Barry – Rhondda Cynon Taft
• I’ve Changed – Louise Gillett – Christchurch Dorset
• Sunny Side Up – Karim Harvey – London
• Proud to be me – Denise Claxton – Essex
• Daylight after Rain – John Campbell – London
• I Can See The Colour and I Can Feel The Sun – Elizabeth Aldous – Luton
• Free To Be Me – Diana Hayes – Abergavenny
• Bus Journey – Safoora Masood – Halifax
• There Once Was a Young Girl From Wales – Katy Young – Flintshire
• See the Flowers Beneath Your Feet – Anonymous
• I Know – Kauser Parveen – Halifax

Congratulations from all of us at !!

by Ella Zellaby

I feel life

Firing up my senses,

Scintillating my skin,

Tickling my toes,

Tingling my tongue,

Tantalisingly close.

Falling stars are caught and suns are born;

Suns that rise, and set, then rise again.

Gravity pulls the tides and waves crash down on the shore.

The moon spins on her axis knowingly;

All is well.

Everything is exactly as it should be.

Life takes place all by itself

And I am

Both spectator and actor

Creating the circumstances I need to achieve and thrive;

I am truly alive.

Clean air blasting through my lungs,

Blood pulsing through my veins,

A clear head and crystal vista,

Creativity oozing through my skin,

Serene acceptance within.

Epithanic excitement, exhilaration, expectation,

Faith, prosperity, a future

Filled with wonderment and friendships

To last a lifetime.

I see visions,

Horizons expanding far beyond tomorrow;

A glorious hope calls out my name.

Reveries exponentially unravelling,

Ambitions unfurling at my feet,

Possibilities I can reach out and clasp,

Ideas I can run with and take off.

Earth, now solid, beneath my feet,

Starting tasks I know I can complete

Life’s long journey

Step by step.

Calmness, contentment,

Tiredness, that fulfilment and fresh air brings.

A warm home to return to,

Love to swaddle me in,

Arms to coddle me tight,

Someone fabulous to kiss me goodnight,

Dreams coloured in delight.

Mindfully I embrace myself,

Aware that everything is as it should be,

For with good mental health

Life is very beautiful

Now I am free.

Ella collects an iPad and a handmade hardback book

She will be presented with these at the House of Lords on the 1st May 2013

Congratulations from all of us at !!

Her work will feature in the book going nationwide

Her poem will be developed in to the lyrics for the Rubie Colt single release

We would like to say a huge thank you to Carers’ Action for generously donating the iPad prize

Selected Poetry Entries for The Yellow Book please click the titles to view:

• I Feel Life – Ella Zellaby – Rochester Kent
• This World – Stephanie Rose – Bo’ness Scotland
• Lift Your Voice – David Holloway – Bedford
• Mirror – Saiqa Parveen – Halifax
• With Good Mental Health – Anne Broadbent – West Yorkshire
• Meandering – Peter McGrath – Essex
• Senses – Jade Tullet – Berkshire
• The Wren – Ian Curtress – Cheltenham
• Recovery – Lesley Burt – Dorset
• A Home in my Head – Karen Mason – Surrey
• Freedom is Ours – Gemma Rose – East Sussex
• Beauty – Debee Ebeneezer – Nottingham
• It is Ok – Suzanne Bate – Liverpool
• Happiness is Gratitude – Lisa Barry – Rhondda Cynon Taft
• I’ve Changed – Louise Gillett – Christchurch Dorset
• Sunny Side Up – Karim Harvey – London
• Proud to be me – Denise Claxton – Essex
• Daylight after Rain – John Campbell – London
• I Can See The Colour and I Can Feel The Sun – Elizabeth Aldous – Luton
• Free To Be Me – Diana Hayes – Abergavenny
• Bus Journey – Safoora Masood – Halifax
• There Once Was a Young Girl From Wales – Katy Young – Flintshire
• See the Flowers Beneath Your Feet – Anonymous
• I Know – Kauser Parveen – Halifax

Congratulations from all of us at !!

Negativity around me eats at my brain

People complaining about money, war, politics even the rain.

If they could just open their eyes and see what I see

The world around as glorious as can be.

Reflect for a moment to sit and take in

How everything surrounds us has beauty within.

There’s only one way to beat the blues

Is to look out for positivity in all of it’s hues and not to get stressed after reading the news!

With good mental health i have heart

that when i see red

all hope has not fled

when the path is rocky

and the positives hard to see

there is another train of thought

like strong foundations it will support

through times of struggle and difficulty

it gives me strength and a chance to see

a fresh perspective, a different way

to find special moments in any day.

With good mental health

new world opens up to me

and I am content.

With good mental health

I am no longer afraid to tell you who I am.

Even if you don’t like me

I am free to be me.

Diana collects a handmade hardback book

She will be presented with this at the House of Lords on the 1st May 2013

Congratulations from all of us at !!

Her work will feature in The Yellow Book going nationwide

Selected Poetry Entries for The Yellow Book please click the titles to view:

• I Feel Life – Ella Zellaby – Rochester Kent
• This World – Stephanie Rose – Bo’ness Scotland
• Lift Your Voice – David Holloway – Bedford
• Mirror – Saiqa Parveen – Halifax
• With Good Mental Health – Anne Broadbent – West Yorkshire
• Meandering – Peter McGrath – Essex
• Senses – Jade Tullet – Berkshire
• The Wren – Ian Curtress – Cheltenham
• Recovery – Lesley Burt – Dorset
• A Home in my Head – Karen Mason – Surrey
• Freedom is Ours – Gemma Rose – East Sussex
• Beauty – Debee Ebeneezer – Nottingham
• It is Ok – Suzanne Bate – Liverpool
• Happiness is Gratitude – Lisa Barry – Rhondda Cynon Taft
• I’ve Changed – Louise Gillett – Christchurch Dorset
• Sunny Side Up – Karim Harvey – London
• Proud to be me – Denise Claxton – Essex
• Daylight after Rain – John Campbell – London
• I Can See The Colour and I Can Feel The Sun – Elizabeth Aldous – Luton
• Free To Be Me – Diana Hayes – Abergavenny
• Bus Journey – Safoora Masood – Halifax
• There Once Was a Young Girl From Wales – Katy Young – Flintshire
• See the Flowers Beneath Your Feet – Anonymous
• I Know – Kauser Parveen – Halifax

Congratulations from all of us at !!

WHY ME ?

OH WHY ME ?

WHY DID IT HAPPEN TO ME ?

IT WASN’T WHAT I EXPECTED, IT WASNT WHAT THEY EXPECTED EITHER,

MIND YOU WITH GOOD MENTAL HEALTH NOW I CAN SAY IN A STRANGE WAY I AM GLAD IT HAPPENED TO ME

WITHOUT THE DARK I WOULD NOT ADORE THE LIGHT

WITHOUT THE PAIN I WOULD NOT ENJOY THE PEACE

WITHOUT THE RAIN I WOULD NOT LOVE THE SUN

GUESS IN A WAY IT WAS ME , IS ME ,WILL ALWAYS BE ME.