CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES 31st OCTOBER 2020
poetry@disabilitytalk.co.uk
VIRGIN MEDIA are joint sponsors of “My Disabled World”
A LIST OF OUR NOMINATED CHARITIES SO FAR
MS (twice); Cancer Research (twice); Rutherford School; Crohn’s & Colitis; British Heart Foundation (twice); SCOPE (four times); Revialize; Shekinah; Versus Arthritis (twice); WWF; Alzheimer’s Society; AMAZE (three times); Sutton Nightwatch; Stepping Stone Theatre for Mental Health (twice); BRAKE; MIND (seven times); Children’s Hospice South West (Little Harbour); Independent Lives; SSAFA; MNDA; Bob Champion Cancer Charity; Popsy Charity; Invest in ME; NCBI; The Humane Society; Dementia Care; Headway UK; Heart of Darts; Rights of Women (twice); Complex PTSD; NASS (Ten times); FSH Muscular Dystrophy; Mencap; Teach Us Too; Simon Community Glasgow; Action on Hearing Loss; Spinal Injuries Association (twice); Bay Area Lyme Foundation; KEEN Oxford; The Parasol Project; Caudwell LymeCo (SIX times); White Lodge; Zetta; Help For Heroes ; Retina UK; Horses helping People; RSPCA; Dogs Trust; Jim Cronin Memorial Fund; Daft As A Brush; Smile Train Africa; Share A Star; The Dystonia Society: Bendrigg Trust; PHAB; Spondylitis Association of America; Pets As Therapy; Teenage Cancer Trust; Warwickshire Vision Support; Arthur Rank Hospice; Synolos Social Enterprise; Royal Society for the Blind (Adelaide); CAROUSEL; The Baton; Scottish Autism; Autism Family Support (Oxford); Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion and Dyspraxia Foundation UK
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After The Winter Night
I am cold
but when the frost is over
I will enjoy the heat
of the morning sun
After the winter night
I will pick the first flowers
That grow,
to keep them in my heart
until the next storm
Poem submitted by Lill Due whose favourite charity is NASS
You’re Entitled To A Life
You’re entitled to what will keep you fulfilled
You can get what you need and no one will question you
You’re entitled to dwellings that fit what you need
You’re entitled to life, you can live as you like
You’re allowed supplies to feed yourself
No one says you’re entitled, they know you’re not a cheat
You’re entitled to breathe, to not starve
You’re entitled to a life, you’ve got permission to survive
No one asks you what your body’s for
You’re not told that you’re faking, that you’re after rewards
They know you’re not a scrounger, you don’t have to prove your worth
They agree you’re entitled to your existence on this earth
You’re entitled to dignity, you don’t have to expose your life
People know what’s private, they won’t probe you for details
You can keep things to yourself and choose what to share
You’re entitled to your life not being invaded
You can leave your dwellings and seek good times
You have the benefits you need for a social life
You go to bed when you want to, you can do it all yourself
You’re entitled to independence, but you’re allowed someone else
You don’t have to protest so you can live like everyone
Everything’s set out, it all fits in with you
You won’t have things that you fought for taken away
You’re entitled to your life and they respect your rights
You’re entitled to a relationship and you can be understood
They’re attracted to you, they see what you can do
You won’t be dismissed, you’re not a misfit
You’re entitled to the closeness you need
You don’t have to prove you tell the truth
Assessors don’t prod you and investigate your life
You don’t have to show them what need to survive
You’re entitled to your life, you can stay dignified
You don’t have to change your routine to help others
When you hear of these people, you can just life your life
If their existence feels inconvenient
They’re not entitled to life, you won’t notice them die
You’re entitled to your life, cause your life is worth living
They’ll save you if you’re ill, you’re worth every resource
You won’t be sacrificed for someone more important
You’re entitled to a life, they’ll help you live, not die
Poem submitted by Sam Castell-Ward whose favourite charity is CAROUSEL
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A geek and nerd demeanour
A geek and nerd demeanour
My hopes and dreams were over
Sad wounds would not recover
I depend on four leaf clovers
My goals washed down the river
The errors were uncovered
How I had to really suffer
Getting tangled in much bother
Always hindered in bad weather
My jobs didn’t hold together
I couldn’t count, weigh or measure
Tempers would really lather
From my mother and father
The house slipped to slathers
As bills would quickly gather
With puzzling ledgers
Doors battered by debtors
I felt like a dirty beggar
Who had fallen to the cellar
Cued by lying fortune tellers
With misleading patter
I needed a propeller
My friendships were all severed
Like ill fit shoes with tremor
Crucified with the pressure
Worry hounded me with hammers
A victim of people's humour
Conversation was a stammer
A geek and nerd demeanour
Poem submitted by Chris Tait whose favourite charity is Scottish Autism
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Autism, Disability/Ability
moved as if your body were bigger than the space around it.
Holding your hands out to make sure you fit,
knowing you didn’t.
Not like the other kids.
Couldn’t catch a ball, tie your shoes, button a shirt.
Simple things, like instructions,
a foreign language
that everyone else understood,
except you.
Growing quieter with every year.
Retreating from the world.
From us,
and all our expectations.