AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 3
By Adeline McCann
You held me
And something took place
Like magic
You absorbed my turmoil
Crushing it into a million pieces
Allowing it to fall and scatter and mess
Into the earth
You held us
Where the sun eventually shone
And slowly
The pieces grew light
Poet Bio: Adeline has been using writing as an expressive tool throughout her recovery from postpartum psychosis in 2021 after the birth of her son, Reuben. This poem is about her stoic, unwaveringly supportive partner, Malcolm.
“Mummy, mummy, mummy”
You never tire of me
Always holding onto me
Hoping I’ll save youLike a lifeboat in tumultuous waters
Unconditional love surrounds me
Your innocence enamouring me
Hoping you’ll remain like this
My most precious treasure
Your pain torments me
Your tears stinging my soul
Making you believe in miracles
However morose the morning
And in the middle of the night
When you prise my sleep away
I gather you in my armsAnd feel the weight of the day slowly
Leaving my body
Poet Bio: Snehal is a freelance writer and poet based in Surrey (UK). Her writing primarily reflects her motherhood journey, memories of her own childhood and the essence of everyday moments which she tries to document on her Facebook blog page,‘ Notes On The Go’. She has authored three poetry chapbooks, ‘Pause’, ‘I Am’ and ‘In Between Love’. Snehal is a Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease (YOPD) warrior and creates awareness about the condition through her writing. You can find her on Instagram: @mommy.snippets.
The AIMS Journal spearheads discussions about change and development in the maternity services..
AIMS Journal articles on the website go back to 1960, offering an important historical record of maternity issues over the past 60 years. Please check the date of the article because the situation that it discusses may have changed since it was published. We are also very aware that the language used in many articles may not be the language that AIMS would use today.
To contact the editors, please email: journal@aims.org.uk
We make the AIMS Journal freely available so that as many people as possible can benefit from the articles. If you found this article interesting please consider supporting us by becoming an AIMS member or making a donation. We are a small charity that accepts no commercial sponsorship, in order to preserve our reputation for providing impartial, evidence-based information.
AIMS supports all maternity service users to navigate the system as it exists, and campaigns for a system which truly meets the needs of all.