People tell me it’s easy to reach forty
I waged a war to get here
At 10 years old I ran away
a post man found me
and delivered me back to my mum
At 16 psychosis blew my mind
always out of step with time
At 18 I found poetry and rhyme
but suicidal tendencies stuck in my mind
At 21 I climbed a mountain in foreign land to see the Dawn
At 25 I wrote a letter to myself at 16
Because although I saw stars I still bore the scars
from my breakdowns
At 30 I pressed the reset button
and found myself in hospital again
but my life twisted and turned my heart burned
I found creative writing course which inspired at 32
I recited poetry on the radio too
and fought for community projects
to advertise and endorse
At 40 I live my life
I show love and remorse
I fight to live but that’s what life is for me
but in between moments of pain and work
Is the happiness I desired and the freedom I planted like the seeds that formed a tree
I sit in their shade
One day my body will fade
but I will be a soul free in the wind
guiding others my kin.