Geoff is one of our listening volunteers and part of our Schools Team. He has been inspired by his experiences to write these poems. Explaining how he came to write the poems Geoff said:
I wrote It’s Ok to Be Me with young people in mind. Social media has had such an impact on this generation and has put so much pressure on them I wanted to be able to communicate the value of self-worth and how important it is for people to be comfortable just being themselves. I'm thrilled that this poem is now being used by our Outreach team in school workshops.
Geoff, Listening Volunteer
It's Ok to Be Me
I’ve often wondered what it must be like to be you,
with your big personality and strong points of view.
I don’t have your confidence or your ease in a crowd,
I prefer to be silent, I don’t do being loud.
I see you on social media with all your friends gathered round.
I feel uncomfortable in a crowd, that’s just something I’ve found.
I was surprised when I saw you and you said that you wanted to chat,
You seemed shy and unsure of yourself; I would never have thought that.
You were so different to the person that I expected you to be,
This helped to know myself better, now I’m just happy to be me.
You Really Do Matter
There was only darkness and a constant pain,
A body that ached: eyes that were sore, a spirit lame.
The debris of broken dreams lying scattered around,
A brain that had become a traffic jam; a mouth without sound.
Lost in a darkness, searching endlessly for light,
Now a fatalist at heart with no hope in sight.
I could see and I could hear, but I just couldn’t feel,
People tried to embrace me but nothing seemed real.
Lost in a wilderness through my own choice,
Would I escape from this darkness, if I found a voice?
Perhaps I wouldn’t have become this lame and broken,
If someone had only listened to the words that I’d spoken.
My world could have stayed this pointless and shattered,
It changed, when someone told me, that I really mattered.
I used to wonder what my purpose in this life was about,
Now I can laugh, I feel loved and I’ve learned to reach out.
I feel connected and I realise that I have a right to belong,
I feel needed, I feel wanted, and now I feel strong.
So, if you meet someone who’s world may be about to crumble or shatter,
Tell them: “You are unique, you are special, and you really do matter.”
Geoff added, "You Really Do Matter came about following a call I took from a man who was very down. He was adamant that he didn’t matter to anyone, least of all himself."
It made me think about how important it is for people to feel that they matter. Doesn’t everyone deserve to?
Geoff, Listening Volunteer