Poetry for Mental Health

Supporting people with mental health challenges by motivating and inspiring them to write poetry.

Today's Featured Poetry

OBSOLETE CLICHÉ

By Vatsala Radhakeesoon

When at 5, your mum dropped you at

primary school and on the first day you still cried,

a bossy teacher grabbed your hand

and pointed at the round-faced girl

whose pigtails looked neat

and cheeks all-dry,

you felt her big teeth- grin was placid, dull

but to the eyes of adults was framed brave;

You felt something within your behaviour

sank-shrank

At 12, when you battled Vitiligo whims,

during recess-time, a few friends bullied you

with their sharp knifed- lines,

“grey streaked -hair and old wrinkled cow-skin,

no boyfriend to catch the eyes”,

you hid yourself in the classroom,

stopped playing 

and preferred dreaming in pop music magazines;

You felt something in your body

sank-shrank

As an adult, amidst a management training session,

you rushed to the wash-room,

glanced at yourself in the mirror

and let the tears well down your faded dimples,

“That job is not for me, All Money, No Humanity”,

you let the voice in you yell;

You felt something in your mind

sank -shrank

You became a writer,

and when you joined a group of authors

for book signing sessions,

you thought that was where you belonged,

but their intellectual show off or egos 

coupled with 21st century social media’s

self-hero worshipping 

and their thirst for fame, name, money

and no shame,

labelled you as “too sensitive, engrossed in your trauma”;

You said it was a cry for help

but they shrugged, priding their better worth;

You felt something in your heart

sank-shrank



All throughout life stages, pinpointed as 

the HSP* and the society blaming you as some

weak, cowardice -sin,

you finally became who you were meant to be

Now,

You walk alone,

You work individually,

You create depth in your solitary refuge,

Yet you always stand up for the ones

sincerely in need of help,

You feel the pain of all,

even the ones who once hurt you,

You bear no grudge

You no longer carry the obsolete cliché 

of sensitivity being insane,

You go on,

You are unstoppable

You are an empath.

* HSP – Highly Sensitive Person

ABOUT THE POEM: "Being an HSP from childhood to adulthood, I have often been reproached by many people of being “too sensitive " and they have advised me to be tough skin. Thus, till my early 30s I kept believing being highly sensitive was a flaw and that gave me some inferiority complex. However, my whole perception of myself changed after I read the book , The Highly Sensitive Person by the clinical research psychologist and author, Elaine Aron. In that book, the writer emphasizes that we should consider being an HSP as a quality and channel it in the right direction in our daily lives. I have written this poem based on my own personal experiences and for other HSPs who have crossed my path."

ABOUT VATSALA: Vatsala has been writing poems for more than 30 years and she is the author of numerous poetry books. She is also an abstract artist and likes to experiment various possibilities that bless Art. Vatsala is a literary translator and currently lives at Rose-Hill, Mauritius.

Blog: https://booksbyvatsalaradhakeesoon.wordpress.com

On the themes of mental health, from poets around the world.

Poetry by: Vatsala Radhakeesoon, Martin Embree, Dan Healy, Tadgh Quill-Manley, Reuben Scott, Paulette Hampton, Dr Sabrina Rubin, Bella Hope Smith, Lindsay Walter, Dale "Coyote" Johnson, Alexander A. Henning, Emma Welch, Sophie Squires, Chris McClelland, Sasha Irwin, Faiqa Ali Chughtai, Hari Berrow, Victoria Fitzgerald, Andrea Mitchell, Mohammed Ali, Chad Boucher, Zack Benz, Jordan Claeys, Nicole Crossno, Valentina Fulginiti, Ethan Boyd, Heidi Hildeman, Oscar Lozano, Addie Suter, Dionne Risley, David M White, PhD, Melissa W. Sorgi, Kyra Merryman, Riley M. Frank, Hilary Canto, Amelia May Hart, Reese, Anneli Knight, Keila Cruz, Bhagvati Patel, Amber Roeder, Cynthia Foss, April Bulmer, Chelsea Garcia, Trish Lundy, Divya Paliwal, Jeanette Stephenson. Luke Preston, Autumn Johnson, Amy Harris, Braxsen Sindelar, Kristen Moody, Sindy Stern, Sam Hendrian, Deby Cedars, Kiran Harrar, William Gray , Tim Boardman, Jason Kirk Bartley, Ruben Smith, Crystal Hall, Diane Kennedy, Phil Griffiths, Nadine Dunseith, Cynthia Foss, Titan Sanchez, Alex Turner, Brielle Hoban, Aviva Lilith, Spruce Craft, Frea Wooten, Rosalynn Gildart, April Bartaszewicz, Prudence Sage Massaria, Howa Ramadan, Brodeigh Pearce, Annie Walsh, Charity Louise, Sasha Pavlovic, Haley Headrick, Trisha Lawty, Noor Yousif, Hannah Louise MacFarlane, Anthony Lanza, Basil Kaye, Malachy Mackel, G.S. Yarbro, Sanda Ristić Stojanović, Bobby Z, Binod Dawadi, Fredua A .Boateng, C.W. Blackburn, James Aitchison, Eshaal Asim, Anthony Lanza, Natalie Hussey, Kiran Harrar, Gary Shulman, Abraham Aruguete, Johnathan Eldridge, Faith Graham, Amanda Sharon Hancock, Garima Sachdev Kapoor, Rita McDermott, Shahida Seedat, Jose Manoj Mathews T, Farblos Artem, Jennifer L. Alukonis, Thomas Oddie, Tricia Lloyd Waller, Lisa Anderson, Himanshu Ahuja, K. Weber and Mary Bone.

In their own words, poets and writers write about their own personal journey with mental health.

Poetry for Mental Health chats to writers and poets about their journey with mental health.

Featuring over 70 individual poets with up to six pieces of their work and a little about the author, and the stories behind their poem/s..

New for 2024!!!

Our NEW Poetry for Mental Health magazine featuring poetry on the topics and themes of mental health from writers and poets around the world, as well as lots of poetry writing advice, tips & techniques, articles, essays, poet profiles, personal stories, and a forthcoming regular poetry competition!