3. Contents Foreword...............................................................................................................6
Acknowledgements..............................................................................................8
Introduction.........................................................................................................10
Our Pencils Are The Speakers - Diane Hinchliffe, 22 May 2015.........................13
Residents Poetry
- Which Way To Go - Les, Rose, Effie, 4 August 2015.....................................15
- Passing Into Eternity - Les, Effie, Rose, Mary, 28 July 2015.........................15
- When We Go Out Of This World - Eda, 3 August 2015.................................16
- I Want To Know - Louise, 10 August 2015.......................................................17
- You Don’t Know Where You Are - Rose, Mary, Effie, Ada, 18 August 2015.....18
- Frosty Washing - Eda, 24 August 2015...........................................................19
- I’ll Still Keep Going - Barbara , 21 July 2015.................................................20
- I’m O O - Barbara, 28 July 2015......................................................................20
- The Thought Of Spring - Dorothy, 4 August 2015.........................................21
- The Horse And The Shirt - Dorothy, 4 August 2015......................................21
- The Tree That Could Tell A Few Stories - Pauline, Molly, Doreen, Doreen,
Leonora, Louise, 3 August 2015.....................................................................22
- The Beautiful Garden - Pauline, August 2015...............................................23
- When John Betjeman Came To Tea - Eda, 24 August 2015.........................24
- His Pot Of Tea And Cream Cake - Mary, 14 August 2015............................25
- A House And A Home - Les, 14 August 2015................................................26
- This Old Granny - Pauline..............................................................................28
- Shell, Cradle, Swan - Louise, 13 July 2015....................................................29
- Empty Seats - Leonora, Doreen, Doreen, Pauline, Esther, Molly,
Louise, 24 August 2015...................................................................................30
- The Gift - Eda, 3 August 2015........................................................................32
- Poetry To Me - Pauline, Leonora, Esther, Doreen, Doreen, Molly,
Louise, 24 August 2015...................................................................................33
Behind The Poem - Diane Hinchliffe, July 2015.................................................34
4. 6 7
This selection of poems demonstrates a number of things:
first of all, that people in care homes, including those with memory loss,
respond well to a stimulus, particularly that of the reading and making of
poems: it enhances their quality of life individually, and contributes to the
development of fellow-feeling;
secondly, it shows that there is no loss of creativity in ageing, rather often a
blossoming of it;
thirdly, that in Diane Hinchliffe we have an exceptionally talented and
empathetic person who should be congratulated on what has been
achieved here in a very short time, and given many more opportunities to
build upon the successes of this pilot project.
John Killick
John Killick has a national reputation and extensive experience for
producing high quality work as a writer, poetry and drama/theatre
practitioner working with older people including people living with
dementia. For the past twenty years he has worked with people with
dementia, publishing five books in this area, many book chapters and
papers, and edited six books of poems by people with the condition.
Foreword
5. 8 9
Arts Council England - for funding the project. CidaCo - for additional
funding from their developing artist grant fund.
A special thanks to the following who, at different points in the project,
have supported, encouraged, guided, mentored, and helped me to hold on
to, grow and realise my vision for this project:
John Killick - Poet; Keith Evans - CidaCo; Helen Ball – Civic Barnsley;
Wendy Roper – Barnsley Local Authority; Ralph Dartford – A Firm of Poets;
Tony Shephard – Shephard Creative.
The project would not have been possible without the interest and
enthusiasm of the activities coordinators, Helen and Susannah, at the two
care homes involved - Mapplewell Manor and Highgrove, who both saw a
wonderful opportunity for residents and chased me for it! Thank you also to
managers for saying yes to the project, and for allowing care staff Andrea
and Michelle to play their part in supporting the project.
Most importantly a big thank you to the residents at the two care homes for
engaging with the project in such a wonderful way, allowing their stories to
become words expressed through a poem.
Eda, Pauline, Esther, Doreen, Molly, Louise, Lenora, Doreen, Betty,
Kathleen, and Les, Rose (Piroska), Mary, Effie, Ada, Dorothy, Barbara.
Acknowledgements
FIRMOFPOETS
A
6. ‘Behind the poem’ brings together a selection of poems created with and
by older people including those with dementia, who participated in a care
home residency programme, June to August 2015, exploring the impact of
poetry upon wellbeing.
Over a period of 11 weeks I worked in two care homes in Barnsley
creating a total of 116 poems with 17 residents. Coming together in
groups or working with me one to one, the Art of Poetry Making allowed
people to tell their untold stories - to talk about broken hearts, death and
dying, loss of self and how things used to be, hopes and dreams for the
future. It provided a vehicle to give voice to these things, and what’s more it
enabled these voices to be shared, seen and heard, as poems have been
shared with and read aloud for others to hear.
‘Behind the poem’ is a celebration of this body of work and takes the
voices shared through the poetry created further into the field.
The poems shared here also featured in an exhibition of the same name
‘Behind the poem’ at Civic Barnsley, November 2015, highlighting all that
is valuable about using poetry to tell a story where it may never have been
told before.
Diane Hinchliffe
Poet in residence
dianehinchliffe@blueyonder.co.uk
www.creative-pd.com
Introduction
10 11
7. 12 13
Our Pencils Are The Speakers
Is it really possible,
that words
falling fast,
from the tip,
yet from the depths,
offer new perspective
of vision
of untold stories
now bringing
healing
to my soul
beauty
to my heart
Could it really be,
that my words,
helping your words,
falling gently
into shape,
as teardrops fall
to the page,
our pencils
are the speakers,
of what
we want to say.
Diane Hinchliffe
22 May 2015
Could it really be,
these words falling
to paper
like teardrops
taking shape,
smudging outer layers
are inner stories
from my soul,
and this time
someone listens,
my pencil is the speaker
8. Which Way To Go
Down the river
Through the wood
Up the stream
Left or right
Round the bend
Don’t know
Because we’re lost
It’s quiet, along the high street
Home and back.
Les, Rose, Effie
4 August 2015
Passing Into Eternity
Looks like the woods
Like going through a tunnel
The leaves all meet together
What’s in the middle?
Passing into eternity
Eternity, fancy that
The farther you go through it
The less you can be seen
Disappearing.
Les, Effie, Rose, Mary
Edited by Diane Hinchliffe
28 July 2015
Residents Poetry
14 15
9. 16 17
When We Go Out Of This World
We go out of this world
A certain length of time.
When we dream
We go away for a while.
When we come back
It’s a lovely feeling,
of coming home.
Yes it is
Yes, it is.
I did that when I fell twice this week.
And when it did happen twice
I thought,
wey, wey, no, I’ve not finished my poetry.
That’s how it’s got to me.
Before, it’s because I haven’t been bothered enough
Now, I feel strong enough.
I’ve so much to say,
and so little time to say it.
Eda
3 August 2015
I Want To Know
I never went a walk
without weighing things up
I like to look over the fields
and see what’s behind them
I don’t just walk
I just want to see,
what’s going on somewhere else
I like to delve
I like to delve into things
Whether it’s walks or…
I must see the other side
Down past this fence
I want to know what’s behind that fence
I do like to delve
Yes I do
Very much so
I want to know the beginning
and the end
I want to know how things begin
and how they end.
Louise
10 August 2015
10. 18 19
You Don’t Know Where You Are
I am on a floating ship,
peaceful and quiet,
sea all around.
The ships lit up.
The lights look beautiful in the night.
The lights of the ship look beautiful in the night.
You can hear the sirens, in the dark of the night,
they are very loud.
Swaying from side to side, rolling around.
You don’t know where you are, looking around.
There is blue sky
I love to fly up in the sky
My imagination going up in the moon
Saw what it looked like, in the beautiful sky
It’s lovely, you know, beautiful sky.
Because it’s flowing around,
and, I love to watch it, going around.
I want to know where we are going.
I don’t know.
Been to so many places.
We started up in Scotland,
been for picnics, been to dances,
on the floating ship.
Rose, Mary, Effie, Ada
18 August 2015
Frosty Washing
On a frosty morning
My washing dancing on the line
It takes on an appearance,
of a person in a taffeta dress.
They are as stiff as if
they’ve completed their job,
and they’re tired out
at the end of a day,
on a frosty morning.
Eda
24 August 2015
11. The Thought Of Spring
The thought of spring coming
The nice weather
The summer time begins
Light nights
And mornings
Another year of living
Another year of living
Dorothy
4 August 2015
I’m O O
I’m O O
O O
When I first came here
I didn’t work here
Fed up,
cos I’m O O now
I’m nearly finished
I’ll not be long
I’m O O
That means
I’m nearly ready for going
Another O O,
finished
I’m getting old
and I’m finishing
I’m getting old you see,
very old
I like to keep on,
as much as I can
Just depends how old I am
when it comes to it
If I want
I can keep going on
I don’t know
At 80 year old.
Barbara
28 July 2015
I’ll Still Keep Going
I’ll not be long
As I’m going
I’ll still keep going
Don’t matter how long it takes
I’ll still keep going
On and on
Here and there
Everywhere
Barbara
21 July 2015
The Horse And The Shirt
In the seventies
we went to Dorset,
in the caravan.
In the field where we stayed,
it was lovely.
Lovely scenery.
There were horses in the field,
my son’s shirt was on the washing line,
the horse took a piece out of it
It was funny
and he didn’t mind.
It was a beautiful holiday.
Dorothy
4 August 2015
20 21
12. The Tree That Could Tell A Few Stories
It’s white, it’s different,
shape and everything.
It’s very old, but even so,
each branch could tell its own story.
It’s an unusual tree,
very thick trunk -
Only three different parts growing out of it.
A figure with legs outstretched.
It’s a tree that’s been made into another item.
‘The Tree’ like nothing I’ve seen before.
It’s lacking in branches.
It looks like it’s naked.
Looks bare.
Not particularly attractive.
Do you know,
I think these branches could tell their own story.
They’ve been there long enough.
If ‘The Tree’ could only talk,
it would solve everything!
Pauline, Molly, Doreen, Doreen, Leonora, Louise.
Facilitated by Helen Smith
3 August 2015
The Beautiful Garden
In this garden there are beautiful trees in full leaf
and lawns like velvet under feet,
and trees with shining brown bark
and fresh green leaves
It is a place for children to play
in a sandpit out of the sun and have fun, and not get burnt
The little stream runs by
and a bridge to cross to the other side
You can see the little tadpoles turn into frogs
that come, after the rain
But best of all a big white petrified dog
with paws stretched out,
and his face is surprised to see the lovely grass between his feet
One ear hanging down his face
His arms reach out of his head
Out of his arms his fingers feel the leaves above
And he says, oh, in surprise
And his eyes look really sad.
It really is a beautiful place,
perhaps in years to come
he will want a lovely place to be his home,
he will look happy again,
even if it’s just to stand in the rain,
when the storm comes around again.
Pauline
August 2015
22 23
13. When John Betjeman Came To Tea
When he came,
he came in with one of Ron’s carved wood fishes,
and he stroked it all the way through.
He said Mrs W,
because that’s what they used to call me,
I shall never wake up,
without touching this
in the morning,
my good luck charm.
Such a nice bloke.
Eda
24 August 2015
His Pot Of Tea And Cream Cake
He was great
He used to bring us all over the place
He used to come up to Yorkshire
Every summer
He came, summer and Christmas
He always came on my birthday
He used to bring us to Derbyshire
All around that part of the country
The Lake District
He brought us all over.
I wouldn’t know Yorkshire, only for him
He brought us everywhere
From Derbyshire to Thirsk
From Thirsk to …
I forget most
And to York
We went to York, to the races
He brought us all over the place
He brought me all around.
Then we always go to get a pot of tea, a cream cake
His cream cakes always in Derbyshire
His cream cakes and his pot of tea
And then we’d have a meal
I have lovely memories of him as well.
Mary
14 August 2015
24 25
14. A House And A Home
I married June at twenty one
My heart never stopped thumping
We had the speeches
Then to London
For our honeymoon
All going nicely on the train
Then it started to slow down,
And come to rest
In Pontefract
I said, I’m hungry
And went to get a packet of crisps
In the station
The train left, with my wife on
Leaving me behind
I chased the train to London
And she was sat on a bench
Waiting
Not very happy
We honeymooned in London
Saw all the big shops
Went to see a show
The week passed on quickly
We caught the train back home
The train stopped at Retford
I stood up to get off
For another packet of crisps
I felt a big hand on my shoulder
We were married fifty seven years
Lived in a small village
Quiet,
But nice and easy going
Since then
Three children
Grandchildren
Great grandchildren
They look after me well enough
But still, you miss your own people.
Les
14 August 2015
26 27
15. This Old Granny
This old granny of mine
who sat in the chair
and made the most beautiful mats
I have ever seen
they looked like a dream.
Sometimes she said
I can show you how
but she worked so fast
my eyes could not keep pace
how ever I tried.
I tried again
when I got older
but it’s not the same
I must try again.
Pauline
Shell, Cradle, Swan
It reminds me of a baby’s cradle,
makes me want to rock it.
The baby will fall asleep,
and would have a good night’s sleep
after having a rock in this.
It would have to be a very young baby.
It makes me feel like rocking.
Look after my cradle.
When you turn it over
it looks like a swan.
Louise
13 July 2015
28 29
16. There’s got to be a reason, why they’re all here.
It’s a bit depressing, because there’s nobody around.
I’m just looking, it’s not sunshine, its snow.
The sun must be shining because there’s no shadow.
It makes me feel lonely.
Not uplifting.
You’ve got to think,
It’s what you make it.
Leonora, Doreen, Doreen, Pauline, Esther, Molly, Louise
24 August 2015
Empty Seats
They’ve lost their owners.
Well, there’s nobody around.
They’ve lost their owners,
but they’ve gained as well.
There’s no children,
and there should be, in a park.
Don’t know why,
perhaps the seats are wet.
It can’t be a nice day
You’ve got to think,
there’s a reason, why they’re all there.
It gives me a feeling of loneliness.
It looks like these seats need decorating.
It wouldn’t be like this on a nice day.
They don’t match.
They need painting.
With your friends, sat together, and doing a conflab together.
I should think there’ll be a lot there.
Each ones got a different meaning.
It’s the togetherness.
30 31
17. The Gift
When you read something
your imagination comes into it.
You can see it.
You can pick it up,
as if it was real.
It’s a nearness,
but not a nearness.
Disappearing and coming back.
Disappearing and coming back.
Poetry is wonderful.
And the searching,
the magic paper,
you can fill this sheet,
of magic paper.
You have the wonderful gift
of being able to fill this sheet of paper.
It’s a gift.
It’s a gift.
Thank god for it!
There is a jewel inside this page.
You’ve got the sheet to use again and again.
It’s marvellous really.
Eda
3 August 2015
Poetry To Me
It means a lot more than it did.
It isn’t all to rhyme,
but it comes into to it quite a bit.
It gives different impressions.
It’s brought me to know more people,
and friends.
I’ve usually been a loner,
but it’s brought it out in me.
It’s sort of getting over what you want to tell people,
and say it in a nice way.
It’s nice to sit and listen to other people getting together.
Most things,
every time you go out, all the time,
introduces special times
that creep up on you.
Poetry in motion.
Pauline, Leonora, Esther, Doreen, Doreen, Molly, Louise
24 August 2015
32 33
18. Behind The Poem
The poem
behind the poem,
behind the words,
behind the words
lies the stillness of the soul,
whose voice to be heard
requires that,
we
listen,
see,
and listen again,
to the unspoken,
behind
the spoken word.
Diane Hinchliffe
July 2015
34
