Abby Lafferty's Poem "David"

During the final day of Contemporary Approaches to Mental Health students viewed a video entitled 'David's Story: In his own words.' In response to this Abby wrote the following poem.

DAVID

I watched you from the other side

Nurtured you until you could fly

Day after day I watched you grow

Piece by piece a new feather arose

It was magical, beautiful, like nothing I’d ever seen before

Like a sunrise after a storm

A kiss after the sting of a thorn

And you were the one that kept me strong

Maybe when we die we all become birds I thought

As I felt my heart miss a beat

As I watched them tear into his battered beak

Don’t worry I’ll help you eat

I rolled up the bread piece by piece

Day after day a perfect streak

Now he was strong and I watched him leave.

Now back to my side

I doubt I’ll ever be able to fly

There’s no genuine hand reaching to me

There goes another sigh.

I'm lonely in here,

Can you die of loneliness?

I think I might,

Because there’s nothing in sight

This future, my future seems anything but bright.

There was a time I believed I could move mountains,

Clap my hands and the clouds would stop raining

There was a time where I felt so low I could have stopped breathing

and would not have cared you know

I’d take a handful of whatever washed down with some lager

And go into a sleep that id wish would be forever

There was a time where I was happy I was in love and she was on my side

I felt giddy, excited and hopeful again

And now I'm back in here on the other side

They’re spouting words at me,

I think it’s called recovery

Something about a journey

I can’t remember it all seems so empty

I wonder if anyone would nurture me

Take me under their wing,

Piece by piece Step by step

Maybe I could sort this thing I think they call bi-polar disorder

Higher than high, lower than low

I prefer to call it feeling shit, and that’s all I think you need to know

Maybe recovery should be reality

Speak to me when I ask them tae 

Just now I feel

I am only existing

And couldn’t be further from truly living

This fairy tale ending

they like to call my well-being

And I when I refuse just about everything,

And Bite the hand that’s trying to feed me

Please don’t give up on me

Even if I ask ye tae.