Sheena Hussain

‘It Takes Time’

“How can I not contribute a poem to PHS when I myself came to poetry through a cancer diagnosis.  Words created from the deepest chambers of the heart carry so much meaning, often immersed in love, hope and sacrifice.  What a super project that will help heal many going through the upheavals of life which often will leave people mentally drained.  I hope my small contribution resonates with many.”

Roxy Dunn

‘Peas’

“Hats off to Hafsah for this fantastic initiative which I’m honoured to be part of. I’ve always believed that creating and consuming poetry should be as ordinary and everyday as watching TV, seeing friends, eating a meal, etc. The Poetry Health Service recognises the value of poetry in our daily lives and I hope that people who use the service will be encouraged by the words they hear as well as being inspired to write their own poetry.”

Aisha Sharif

‘Becoming’

“The beauty of poetry is that it takes new shapes for each person; a poem can reveal truth, provide comfort, question, heal, and raise the dead. We bring to it what we need.”

Bridget Hart

‘Food Shopping When You Don’t Drive’

“The Poetry Health Service is a brilliant idea. We need more healing of all kinds in the world.”

Sarra Culleno

‘World-Woking’

“I’m thrilled to be part of this collection of poetic perspectives. I’m certain this project will help us find pathways through these very strange times, by bolstering hope that good will come out of it. If the pandemic has left me with anything, it is a sense that we can do things *better* once we’re through it.”

Hana Lara Haziem

‘The Brink’

“You can never underestimate the power and comfort of “put together” words in times of need, and in times of empowerment. We are all always a few words away from hope or fear. It is important that those who write, write honestly and consistently for those who can’t yet voice their depths”

Clare E. Potter

‘Unmade’

“I’m glad to share this poem with the Poetry Health Service as it shows how poetry was a healing force for me in the first few days of lock down when I felt adrift and afraid. Poetry is a conversation and it’s so important that your users will be able to respond to the poems they hear and read on this platform by adding their own words. A chain of voices that reminds us we are not alone.”

Jack Horner

AKA Leon The Pig Farmer ‘Diamond Pleaser’

“This is a great idea in bringing together people from all communities, utilising creativity as a means of expressing themselves and sharing material on personal journeys. Writing and performing spoken word helped me deal with PTSD awareness and aided my own journey through an undulating period of mental health recovery.”

Bonnie Meekums

‘Moving On’

“I wanted to contribute a poem, because I am interested in how engagement with all forms of literature can offer a sense of connection. I also like the idea of arts being provided free at the point of delivery, like our wonderful NHS, though I fully acknowledge the need to pay artists properly. The theme of connection is, at the time of writing, especially relevant during a pandemic era, when many of us have been geographically and physically disconnected from loved ones. On a more ongoing basis, many ordinary folk feel disconnected from the seat of power in our society. My poem addresses a particular aspect of this disconnect, between the hidden stories of ordinary people’s lives, and the monuments that loom over us.”

Alison Brackenbury

‘Before They Wake’

“I am honoured and excited to give one of my poems as a small contribution to the Poetry Health Service. I think that, in time of sickness, poetry is good for the mind and the heart.”

Muzammil Khomusi 

‘An Afternoon At My Place’

“I am contributing a poem to the Poetry Health Service because I’ve always found that in moments where we yearn for words of affirmation, or long to be spoken to and reassured, comforted and held and the universe has not been able to provide us with a means for any of those things we turn cold and begin to lose faith. But the fact of the matter is, in the moments we think we need someone else are the moments in which we need to find comfort by ourselves and in those moments, I find myself on tumblr or Instagram trying to find some lyric, some verse, just some poetry to caption what I am feeling. And that’s when the universe never fails you. That sense of complicity reading something to yourself and digesting a stranger’s words will see you through to better days and it’s because of that I believe it’s an important project. Now more than ever, are people divided and political reform is just one of our goals.  Poetry is the fuel to get us through every stage until justice is given, until love for one another conquers all class, creed, race, religious and societal constructs. The power - whilst it has been immortalised in writing by poets and authors alike - has and will always remain with the people.”

Shamshad Khan

‘Out There’

“I am so happy to be contributing to the Poetry Health Project as I know from experience how uplifting and healing poetry can be. As a poet and resilience coach I hope to bring together my skills and personal experience to soothe and uplift anyone who needs it. I know how important and valuable accessible arts and well being projects can be and how much difference they can make to our lives.  Hafsah Annela Bashir is a wonderful advocate for the arts and I'm very pleased to be contributing to her great project idea.”

Parveen Butt

‘Tumbling Tigress’

“I am very happy to support The Poetry Health Service as I have long understood the power of art to heal us emotionally and mentally. In particular, poetry can build powerful connections by offering bridges that stretch from our own inner world into another’s. This commonality and shared understanding can be just what is needed when we are internally struggling to make sense of something. I hope the Poetry Health Service brings relief, joy and inspiration to all those who need it.”

Amani Saeed

‘A Rationale For Living’

“I'm contributing a poem because I believe in the healing power of poetry to reach into a chest and touch a heart. To connect a person with a soothing experience, or a provocative one, that either cures or galvanizes them as needed. Hafsah is providing a wonderful service through the PHS, and I personally can't wait to be prescribed with a poem - Lord knows we all need one right now.”

Jessica Mookherjee

‘Jezebel Spirit’

“Poetry often says what we can not say and helps us to give voice to those complex feelings we can’t get witnessed. For that reason I’m keen to support The poetry health service. In these complicated times where there is so much we can’t express, the Poetry Health Service can bring us witness, acknowledgement and healing to all our many fragments to create more wholeness and health to our souls. I’m proud to contribute a poem to this timely project.”

Andrea Witzke Slot

‘To Finding’

“I wanted to be a part of Hafsah’s Poetry Health Service because of the unique and powerful way Hafsah uses poetry to connect people in these times of turbulence, trouble, isolation and need. Poetry and stories — both writing them and reading them — somehow resets the breath, our focus, our minds, and in turn renews the strength and energy needed to create change in our lives and in this world. If a poem of mine could help even one reader experience this, that effect would be doubled in my own head and heart. In our interconnected world where a virus can spread like wildfire through communities, perhaps poetry can spread in a similar way—providing antibodies of its own kind. The Poetry Health Service creates a pathway through which this magic can happen in manifold ways.”

Helen Mort

‘Bridle’

“Poetry is a source of hope, freedom and solace in difficult times. We all need more of it in our lives. The Poetry Health Service is a brilliant initiative and Hafsah Aneela Bashir is a great writer and advocate for the power of language.”

Melanie Roberts

‘Insy Winsy Spiker’

“The process has really helped me get excited about creative work, which has also improved my mood and positivity.”

Mary Mulholland

‘Pointing North’

“The Poetry Health Service strikes me as important as I believe poetry is medicine for the soul. I used to be a psychotherapist and encouraged clients to use the arts to help with mental issues, particularly in cases of depression or to rebalance mood, both reading and writing. Poetry operates on so many levels: confessional, spiritual, philosophical, metaphysical, as cryptic as crosswords, as humour and sometimes it's very earthy. Often it’s simultaneously working on different levels. And similarly for the reader, it can touch through its music and incantatory quality, its content, language and wordplay to soothe uplift, amuse, or provoke thought, or to communicate the very thing you were feeling that had no name, that makes you feel: someone else has been where I am, I am not alone.”

Fiona Bennet

‘Begin’

“Poetry as Healer is as old as language and song, what a great time for this visionary project.”