We have had two beautiful days
Remembering and honouring Tilda
Puzzling over and over
How it can be possible
That a whole decade has passed
We have been busy
We had to be
I had to be
To get through a tough few days
10 years is a lot

Tomorrow we head back to reality
Saturday stage school shuffle
Somehow now I have to just
Slot back in to the mundane
I find these days lonely
And hard

I find that I write more
In these days
“I snatch up journal and pen,
Flip to a clean page.
And unload my hurt, my rage
‘Til I can breathe, again.”
(Nikki Grimes)

In these days
I feel heavy with sadness
Because I miss my daughter
All days
Every day
Not only on her special days

When I am feeling sad
I have learned to
“Tell it that it is okay
To feel small sometimes.
Cry with it and decide together
That it is okay to break sometimes …
… Remember you are still whole
Even after you have broken for a while…
… Because no matter how many times
They break, they always
Become whole again.”
(Nikita Gill)

I know that I just need time
Space
Quiet among the noise
And chaos of family life
To miss my baby
To grieve for the daughter
I should now know

And after these days
These days past the special days
I will begin to heal again
And it may take me
Longer than it should
To find normal again
Find happy again
But that is okay
“For how you feel is how you feel
And all the whole world through
No one else, no, no one else
Knows that as well as YOU!”
(Elaine Laron)

Once I have slowed my pulse
Steadied my breathing
Tamed my thoughts
Unclenched my fists
And remembered
That I want and need to live
Then there is hope
Then there is a sense of
Possibility

“Tomorrow, I do not know
Exactly what you’ll be,
But my mind and heart are racing
From the possibilities.”
(Ruth Awolola)

Today I have read
My Heart Is A Poem
And it is just the book
I needed today
A collection of
Poetry about feelings

Designed with children in mind
But powerful and poignant
For readers of all ages
An anthology of poems
Celebrating feelings and emotions
Poems to be read alone
Poems to be read aloud
Poems to get kids
And grown ups
Talking

This is a book that tells us all
That our feelings are valid
Are feelings are normal
We are not alone
In feeling how we feel
It is okay to talk
It is good to talk
It is necessary to talk
To one another
And understand each other’s emotions

This is a book for every home and school
This is a book to open up dialogue
Around emotional wellbeing
Mental health matters
This is a book that shouts
Beautifully
WE ALL FEEL!

A brilliant and beautiful book
To bring young people together
And share how it feels to feel
To give children a creative way
Of expressing their emotions
Of recognising, processing
And sharing their feelings

This was just the book I needed today
I think a lot of people will be saying this
With a copy of
My Heart Is A Poem
In their hand x