BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY

A Poem By: Judi (Ex service user’s Mother)

I’ve just been re-reading an old issue of Edges which was given to me by my lovely daughter last year.

Following years of active addiction and four and a half years of residential rehabilitation she was introduced to THOMAS where she picked up the reins of her life and moved back into the community .

Although schizophrenia is the legacy of her addiction she manages her life to the best of her ability and I am so proud of the way she has turned her life around.

I wrote this poem in the darkest hours of her addiction.

I am older and wiser and now know that only an addict can make the decision to address their addiction no matter how much those who love them want to address these issues.

The support, encouragement and guidance she received from THOMAS have been hugely instrumental in this happy outcome – thank you all.

Judi

Chased by Dragons .....

Chased by dragons you trail chaos around you

like a ragged, dirty shroud;

And those eyes - once beautiful and blue -

Gaze apathy from behind your carelessly

drawn grey-gossamer veil.

Talk to me my child, seduce me with your lies;

pacify my chill-filled terrors.

And tell me you are wise.

Clad in Names, you cheapen the very threads

that hang from what is left of you;

and still those eyes - unfocused, misty - blue -

watch, unabashed, as all the things you ever loved

begin to crack apart.

Talk to me my child, stifle my anguished cries;

vaporize this nightmare

And tell me you are wise.

High as a kite, you skitter through your storm-torn skies;

a raven on a shredded wing.

And those eyes - once a clear and liquid blue,

scan blind with panic, seeking the illusory source

of your imagined ecstasy.

Talk to me my child, less our fragile commune dies;

return to me sweet angel

and tell me you are wise.

Judi

Front

Page

Page 6