Meet Toni Roethling, our 2024 Bill Pringle Poetry Award winner
24/11/2023
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I hope my poem is a verse many people will be able to relate to; and also which ends in hope, if not for the life you thought they would have as little children, but for the remarkable people that have become.
Toni poem about understanding documents her journey as a mother through the declining mental health of her children. Toni’s children both have severe mental illnesses and she has been their carer since she was widowed at the age of 50. Toni’s children are now in their mid thirties and Toni has been on this journey for over 20 years.
Toni hopes her poem is a verse many people will be able to relate to. The poem ends in hope, if not for the life one thinks their children would have when they are young, but for the remarkable people they have become.
Winning Poem: Understanding
Bundle of Joy
New, fresh, clean and bright
Hopes and dreams reaching for the light
Children
Wild, savage, different, my sprite
Awe and wonder, an absolute delight
Teens
The mist descends we seem to drift
How can we ever mend this widening rift.
Adults
Haunted by demons, visions and delusions
How can I save them, fix them and confusions
Understanding
Not their dreams or hopes but mine
Not my place to fix , mend and make shine
Understanding
They are resilient and brave
Their own way they must and can pave
Understanding
Walking beside on this stony path,
Together to wellness, sharing a laugh.