Poetry: The View from Here Project – A Social Carers Week

The View from Here project are seeking contributions from practitioners to express their experiences of working in social services through poetry.

The project, from the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (Iriss), is designed to understand the experiences, attitudes and outlook of the social services workforce in Scotland.

A Social Carers Week

Monday I heard someone hurt,
a woman breathing deeply, crying,
I felt sad, but happy
that at last she’d opened up.

Tuesday I met a closed, locked bedroom door.
All I could do was offer tea and chocolate,
a listening ear. I worried. Had I let him down?

Wednesday, I witnessed relief, joy, excitement.
A fourteen year old girl going home.
Bitter-sweet for me.
I won’t see her face now every day.

Thursday, in a group, a tearful woman told
How her friend’s child had disappeared.
Another woman without much English
couldn’t understand.  How could I explain?
It was hard to find the words.
It was not my story.

Friday, Andrew was shouting, swearing, kicking.
I got out the coping box we’d filled with
stress balls, a teddy bear to throw,
comic books we’d made to help him understand.
This time Sonic Hedgehog calmed him down.
I felt good.

Saturday and Sunday, my family needed me.
All the usual stuff, lifts to clubs, friends round,
a house full of life and noise – and always, always,
housework needing done.

Poem composed by a group of carers working in very
different areas.

If you have a creative piece on your experiences, or this has been inspired you to write your own and you would like to share it, you can submit it to creativity@[email protected] or @irissorg on twitter #irissvfhpoetry