Meet Toni Roethling, our 2024 Bill Pringle Poetry Award winner

24/11/2023

  • 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.