Author: mike

Meet Neil Carter from Whiteley Shopping Centre

neil carter
art space winchester

MEET NEIL CARTER FROM WHITELEY SHOPPING CENTRE

Neil Carter is Centre Manager at Whiteley Shopping Centre, which has hosted our art:space Winchester programme since 2014. art:space is a multi-arts programme, funded by British Land, which provides the opportunity for young carers to develop creative thinking through art forms including film, animation and dance.

The programme enables them meet other young carers and develop social skills, gain self-confidence and self-esteem, and have fun. Neil told us why everyone at Whiteley Shopping Centre loves getting involved in art:space.

neil carter

“Community is at the heart of everything we do at Whiteley Shopping Centre as we are the heart of the community. We do not see community involvement as an additional task to be performed; it is simply a part of how we manage the Centre each and every day.

“The projects we have undertaken with Create are central to British Land’s Community Charter as they help develop skills that will help young people in their education and careers. We have volunteers at every workshop and all take a fully active part, from dance choreography to animation technology.

“Our relationship with Winchester & District Young Carers (WDYC) began two years ago. At first, many of our team didn’t understand the term ‘young carer’. As we got to know the young carers, one of our team realised that he had been a young carer himself without knowing the title. He had no support and now fully understands the vital role WDYC performs in the community. He then went on to identify a young carer living very close to our Centre and arranged for WDYC to get involved to offer support.

“We have seen one young carer in particular develop over the last two years. When we first met him he was one of the more challenging attendees with some big life choices ahead of him. We arranged for him to join us for a week of work experience and have had regular contact through the workshops. At the last workshop I had a long chat with him and discovered he has a part time job, is doing well in school and planning for further education – what a turnaround!

“Each of our volunteers has learnt something new by volunteering, and not just new skills in the creative arts! Many, myself included, have learnt how to engage with a younger generation and to understand what interests them and how they utilise social media. This has helped us in our day jobs and changed the way we implement marketing strategies at Whiteley. The workshops become a real talking point and boosted the morale and confidence of all who attend.

“Create is professional, organised but most of all, as the name suggests, creative. It is very much a good organisation to volunteer with and we have been very impressed by its professional artists. They interact with the young carers on their level and make the workshops really enjoyable for all who take part.”

Carers Week 2016: Newham Carers Network

Newham Carers Network
Newham Carers Network

CARERS WEEK 2016: NEWHAM CARERS NETWORK

For Carers Week 2016 Create is celebrating its amazing carer friendly partner organisations. Today we’d like to introduce you to Newham Carers Network, which we’ve worked with since 2012 on a number of multi-arts programmes for young and adult carers.

Newham Carers Network delivers a wide range of information, advice and support services to anyone who provides voluntary support on a regular basis to a family member or friend who experiences ill-health or disability. It strives to provide support to all carers and their families to ensure that they receive all the services they are entitled to. This includes carers being assessed in their own right and as part of the decision making process of the person they care for, as well as activities, training and events for carers.

creative:release

Create has run creative:release with Newham Carers Network since 2014, thanks to funding and volunteer support from international law firm, Reed Smith.

A survey commissioned by Revitalise in 2015 found that 40% of carers expressed fears about social isolation and 80% worried about what the future holds. We designed creative:release to provide adult carers with a creative and social outlet away from their caring role, and they have experienced visual art, photography, film-making and storytelling workshops to date, with ceramics planned for later in the year. The programme enhances Newham Carers Network’s services, enabling carers to develop supportive relationships with their peers, build self-confidence and self-esteem, engender a sense of empowerment and take a break from their caring responsibilities.

meet florence

Florence (not her real name) is a former carer who took part in creative:release. She looked after her mother for just over six years towards the end of her life and eventually moved in with her:

“When I was a full-time carer, I felt like I didn’t have a life. I had two and a half hours a week where somebody was paid to come in and sit with my mother. That more or less gave me time to rush off down the road and get repeat prescriptions for her. One month, my only social contact was with my dentist.

“Caring is a difficult life and I lost contact with a lot of people. You need to put time into relationships but that’s something I didn’t really have. I didn’t get out much at all but I was supported by Newham Carers Network. When my mother died I thought that caring wouldn’t be part of my life any more, but I’ve kept that link with the carer service because it has such an important role in my life.

“I’ve found my voice through Create’s arts programmes. Even when I feel a bit out of depth using technology or new techniques, I still feel comfortable here. Just to be exposed to new things helps because we can get trapped inside our own little shells.

“I share everything I learned whilst I was caring with my mother with the other carers in the group so that they can benefit too. I think, caring or not, it’s important in life that everyone feels useful.”

This article is from 2016.

Carers Week 2016: Richmond Carers Centre

Richmond Carers Centre
Richmond Carers Centre

CARERS WEEK 2016: RICHMOND CARERS CENTRE

For Carers Week 2016 Create is celebrating its amazing carer friendly partner organisations. Today we’d like to introduce you to Richmond Carers Centre (RCC), which we’ve worked with since 2014 on our inspired:arts programmes for young carers.

As RCC’s website explains, young carers are children and young people under the age of 18 who take on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities often beyond their years. These can include anything from cooking, shopping and housework, to the administering of medication, assisting with personal care such as washing or dressing, interpreting, physical and emotional support, or looking after siblings. Young carers’ roles are often overlooked: respondents of a study by The Carers Trust in 2015 showed 50% of young carers as feeling unsupported.

RCC is a charity that addresses this, acknowledging the work that young carers undertake and offering free, confidential information to help those living in or caring for someone within London’s borough of Richmond. RCC provides a range of services for the young carers that attend: its 11+ Young Carers Social Group offers an informal and fun peer support group for registered young carers of secondary school age, with sessions giving the opportunity for individuals to share personal thoughts and feelings, encouraging group discussions and collective activities. Siblings between the ages of 5 and 11 sharing caring duties also have the chance to spend time with one another away from the domestic context of responsibility in RCC’s ‘FRAME group’ – an after school group where they can come together for a variety of activities, be it cooking, crafting or creating art. Outside these group settings one-to-one support is available through RCC’s mentoring programme, where a safe space for individuals to talk to a Young Carers Support Worker can be facilitated, either at school or at RCC’s centre.

Create’s collaboration with RCC through our inspired:arts programme builds on the support that RCC offers young carers. Through creative workshops led by our professional artists, young carers forge relationships and support networks, helping to build new skills and confidence and enjoy valuable “me time”. Since our collaboration’s inception in 2014, Create’s artists have led a wide range of creative workshops including music, photography, animation, creative writing, drama, visual art, jewellery and costume/set design.

Chloe’s reflections

We spoke to Chloe Cooper, one of our animation artists, about a three-day inspired:arts project she led last October. The young carers explored various forms of animation, fashioning their own thaumatropes and flipbooks, as well as scripting, shooting and editing Halloween-themed, animated short films.

Chloe said: “We had a great time together. The RCC staff were really supportive and got stuck in – even decorating the room for our Halloween screening. The young carers were fantastic – they were so creative – they had amazing ideas for characters, story lines and editing. They were really ambitious and made fantastic animations. When it came to the screening they shared what they’d done with their families with real pride.”

Create’s partnership with RCC continues this year, with forthcoming inspired:arts projects on the horizon in August, continuing to February 2017.

For more on RCC, head to their website for their activity schedule, an informative blog, and a list of useful resources for young carers.

This article is from 2016.

Carers Week 2016: Carers Milton Keynes

carers milton keynes 2016
carers milton keynes 2016

CARERS WEEK 2016: CARERS MILTON KEYNES

For Carers Week 2016 Create is celebrating its amazing carer friendly partner organisations. Today we’d like to introduce you to Carers Milton Keynes, which we’ve worked with to run inspired:arts programmes for young carers since 2014.

A young carer is someone aged under 18 who regularly helps look after someone in their home who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or misuses drugs or alcohol. This could be a parent or a sibling. These responsibilities can impact on the young person’s wellbeing and many young carers struggle to juggle their education and caring role, causing pressure and stress.

The Young Carers Service in Milton Keynes supports approximately 515 young carers by offering advice and signposting, youth clubs, school holiday activities, targeted workshops, one to one emotional support, advocacy and representation and residential breaks.

inspired:arts is a multi-arts programme for young carers, which enables them to take a break from their caring responsibilities, build trusting relationships with their peers and develop creativity, social skills and confidence. During previous inspired:arts programmes in Milton Keynes, young carers have collaborated on original pieces of drama, short films, jewellery making and even designed a sculpture to accompany the iconic concrete cows that were in residence at intu Milton Keynes.

Research released by Carers Trust this week shows that whilst many carers felt supported, a significant number of children with caring responsibilities face barriers that result in poorer grades, reduced career prospects and increased mental health problems. Carers Trust statistics showed that 45% of carers in school struggle to get their homework done on time and a quarter of young carers are bullied because of their caring role.

Gail Scott-Spicer, CEO of Carers Trust, said: “The figures are quite shocking. These are children who are struggling to do their schoolwork during the day time and then heading home to look after their own mum, dad, brother or sister, in the evening.

“Young carers are vulnerable pupils. If they are not supported, the help they provide to their families can become too much and put their own life chances at risk. Schools, colleges and universities have a vital role to play in ensuring young carers are identified and supported. Understanding their caring responsibilities, making sure the family has the right support and offering some flexibility can be the difference between a young person dropping out or completing their course.”

Russell Hobby, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Failing to support young carers is simply failing them. Schools can play a vital role in identifying and supporting young carers, and in helping these exceptional young people to succeed.”

Meet Maria

Maria (not her real name), one of the young carers from Carers Milton Keynes who took part in inspired:arts, has cared for her father since she was three years old. She said:

“I care for my dad because he has bipolar and severe depression. I feel like I don’t get to go out as much or do as much as other people my age. In school it can be hard to concentrate sometimes because I’m always thinking about what my dad is doing. It can feel like you’re picked out of the crowd when other people know about your life at home.

“I enjoyed working with professional artists during Create’s project. They have taught me how to use a video camera and how to take different shots. I’ve also learnt new painting techniques, how to create pieces of jewellery and how to build a sculpture.

“Getting to work as a team was the best thing about the project because you’re not just one person; you get to hear everybody else’s point of view. I’ve made quite a few friends through the project with Create. It’s been great to see them again at each workshop.

“I think projects like inspired:arts are important for young carers because they take us away from that role and let us be children for a little while. The general public know that young carers exist but I don’t think they understand what we have to do. They don’t take us as seriously as adult carers.”

For more information on Carers Milton Keynes head to their website.

This article is from 2016.

Carers Week 2016: Winchester & District Young Carers

art space Winchester 2016

For Carers Week 2016 Create is celebrating its amazing carer friendly partner organisations. Today we’d like to introduce you to Winchester & District Young Carers (WDYC), who we’ve worked with since 2015 on two art:space programmes.

WDYC supports young people who take on caring responsibilities for an unwell or disabled family member. It provides respite activities, support groups, one-to-one sessions and family support. A dedicated schools worker also provides weekly lunchtime drop-ins, one-to-one sessions and advocacy in all the Winchester Secondary Schools.

Create’s art:space programme, funded by British Land, provides the opportunity for young carers to develop creative thinking through art forms including film, animation and dance. The workshops enable them meet other young carers and develop social skills including teamwork and communication, gain self-confidence and self-esteem, and have fun.

“All the staff and artists have been great, very committed and organised. They make working in partnership very easy.”

Anna hutchings, WDYC

A partnership with Whiteley Shopping, art:space Winchester culminated last night in a celebration of the young carers’ work, including their dance performance and the screening of a film and animations that they created earlier in the year. This enabled them to share their achievements with friends, family and the wider public, absolutely fitting during during Carers Week.

Nicky Goulder, Chief Executive of Create, said the peformance was a great success: “It was an absolute pleasure to see the young carers performing their original dance piece and sharing the surreal films they had made. They had clearly been inspired by the “Who Am I?” theme and their visits to Whiteley Shopping Centre and I loved seeing how much they enjoyed performing – and how proud they and their families were. The Deputy Mayor of Winchester presented them with certificates and thanked them not just for their inspiring performance but for the work they do in their role as carers. It was a privilege to share such a special evening with this exceptional group of young people and a fitting celebration of their talents and creativity during Carers Week.”

Meet Cara

Research conducted by Carers Trust shows that although 55% of young carers are proud of the role they fulfil, 44% feel tired and 48% feel stressed because of their responsibilities. art:space has been designed to provide young carers with a much-needed creative and social outlet, giving them vital “me time” away from their caring responsibilities.

Cara (not her real name) helps her mum care for her older sister, who has brain damage, epilepsy, learning difficulties and scoliosis. She has recently taken part in art:space and told us about her caring role and what creativity means to her:

“My sister has the learning age of a 4-6 year old although she’s actually 20, so I play with her, keep her happy, help her get changed and give her medicine. It’s difficult to get away because I spend a lot of time with my sister, otherwise I’m leaving my mum alone and she needs my help.

“As young carers, we have more responsibilities than other people our age. It’s out of the norm because we look after someone who traditionally we wouldn’t have to look after. Siblings without caring responsibilities don’t dress each other or help each other eat as they develop into young adults. It has made me grow up a lot quicker. I would say that I’ve probably been in hospital more times than other young people because of my sister’s health and that has been quite scary.

“Being creative makes me really happy. It gives me a chance to get away from the stress, even if it’s just for a little while. Create’s workshops have enabled me to have fun with my friends and learn something new together. When it’s stressful at home, I come and do this three-day workshop and it takes my mind off it.”

Anna from WDYC

Anna Hutchings, Activities and Support Coordinator at WDYC, said: “We’ve worked with Create to provide the young people with three day workshops in photography, music, animation and film making. All of them have been very successful, they have given the young carers a much needed break and the chance to learn new skills whilst making friends and building confidence.

“As an organisation we have really enjoyed working with Create. All the staff and artists have been great, very committed and organised. They make working in partnership very easy as they are very flexible and communicative every step of the way. We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with them.”

For more information on WDYC head to their website.

This article is from 2016.

art space Winchester 2016

CARERS WEEK 2016: WINCHESTER & DISTRICT YOUNG CARERS

Carers Week 2016: Carers Support Merton

Carers Support Merton
Carers Support Merton

CARERS WEEK 2016: CARERS SUPPORT MERTON

For Carers Week 2016 Create is celebrating its amazing carer friendly partner organisations. Today we’d like to introduce you to Carers Support Merton (CSM) – a charity providing support, advice and respite to young and adult carers – which we’ve worked with since 2012 on programmes for unpaid carers of all ages. Here we highlight the support that CSM offer adult carers in particular, and our collaborative arts programme, creative:voices.

The needs of adult carers using CSM’s services are addressed by its Adult Carers Team: staff who offer information, support and advice. CSM’s Adult Carers Team provides a range of support services: delivering free training and workshops on carers’ rights; helping carers with benefits entitlement and financial difficulty; existing as mediators between carers and agencies; and providing young adult carers with access to education, training and work. Emotional support through a Counselling Service and therapies is also available on a one-to-one basis, with CSM facilitating a space in which adult carers’ views are listened to and concerns and experiences can be shared.

CSM’s group respite activities enable adult carers to take time away from their caring responsibilities; days out, monthly walking and book clubs, social events, and engagement in cultural activities all provide an opportunity to unwind and relax in the company of others.

This is where Create’s relationship with CSM lies: our creative:voices multi-arts project has been integrated into this array of respite activities which, through their interactive nature, enable adult carers to develop new relationships and skills. creative:voices has brought CSM’s adult carers together to explore a variety of art forms, with sessions in creative writing and storytelling, illustration, jewellery making and photography.

According to an NHS report, caring responsibilities are shown to have an adverse impact on the physical and mental health, education and employment potential of those who care, which can result in significantly poorer health and quality of life outcomes. creative:voices offers an enjoyable, stress-free environment away from potential strains to a carer’s health. Research has evidenced that a higher frequency of engagement with arts and culture is generally associated with a higher level of subjective wellbeing (Arts Council England 2014).

Meet Harriet

Harriet (not her real name) has been attending CSM for 13 years. Last year, she took part in our creative:voices storybook writing and illustration workshops. She talked to us about her caring role and time on the project:

“I started attending Carers Support Merton for support reasons, really, so I knew that I would be linked with people who happen to be in a similar situation. There is the opportunity here to learn from each other by knowing each other and an opportunity for friendships with other families with special needs/issues. My son has autism, which means he does need, or has needed in the past, quite a bit of supervision and organisation. Finding things for him to do in the holidays is more complex so it’s useful to be here and to get information, which I would not otherwise know about.

“I was told about the creative:voices project by a staff member and they asked if I would like to join it. The workshops have been very high quality and I’m very impressed with how organised it has been.

I haven’t done anything like this project before. It has made me realise that, even after so many years of having so many commitments with our children, it is still possible for us to do stuff like this! It’s a confidence builder and it’s very welcome in our lives. If another project like this comes up I’ll be going.

“Create’s artists have given us a great deal of encouragement, and they have given us all these strategies for how to make a children’s book. Actually to be able to try it out for yourself, make a book of your own, is very useful.

“What I’ve loved about the project is that it’s so diverse and there is such a scope for your own individual creative thinking. It’s also really good to work with someone else and share their ideas; their ideas are good for you and your ideas might be good for them. The workshops give me a sense of satisfaction because you end up with something that you have actually devised and created yourself, along with the other person you have been working with. It’s rewarding.

“Projects like this are really important because we all get together, not necessarily to talk to each other but to do something really useful like this. It gives us an objective. Some people are creative, some people have talents they didn’t know they have. I think that all these projects should be really encouraged everywhere where there are people who perhaps don’t find it that easy. It gives people something different to do and an opportunity to discover new talents.”

For more information on Carers Support Merton head to their website.

Create celebrates Carers Week 2016

carers week 2016

CREATE CELEBRATES CARERS WEEK 2016

Carers Week takes place from 6–12 June 2016. This annual campaign aims to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges that carers face and recognise the contribution that the 6.5 million carers in the UK make to their families and communities.

People can find themselves needing help for many reasons. They could have been born with a disability or had an accident, have an illness or disease or have poor physical or mental health.

Becoming a carer isn’t always a conscious decision – many people would say they are just being a mum, dad, wife, husband, friend or neighbour. Caring might involve helping get someone dressed, turning them in their sleep, helping them use the toilet or administering medication. Carers also help with things like shopping, laundry, cleaning, cooking, filling in forms or managing money.

Caring for someone can strengthen relationships, help you learn new skills, realise your potential and be fulfilling and life-affirming. But evidence shows caring can also cause ill health, poverty and social isolation. When caring is unsupported and intensive it can be difficult to keep a job, sleep well, live a healthy lifestyle and dedicate time to friends and family. Statistics show that three out of five of us will become carers at some point in our lives.

This year Carers Week is celebrating Carer Friendly Communities and asking organisations to commit to supporting carers. Carer Friendly Communities are places where carers feel supported to look after their family or friends and are recognised as individuals with needs of their own.

In 2015/16 Create ran multi-arts programmes with almost 500 young and adult carers. We are committed to continuing to deliver free participatory creative arts workshops with carers across the UK, providing a social and creative outlet, boosting wellbeing and enabling peer-support.

Shilpa, an adult carer who took part in one of our projects, said: “Being a carer is hard work. You’re forever thinking about the other person and not looking after yourself. When you’re caring for someone who’s health is getting worse, it’s hard because you’re losing someone. I used to be a dressmaker, I made cushions, cardigans, everything, and I used to be a keen baker. When you look back at it, I have led a very creative life but nowadays my mind is preoccupied with caring so I’ve forgotten these things about myself. I wasn’t thinking clearly before but Create has opened my eyes and woken me up.”

During Carers Week we’ll be celebrating some of the partner organisations that we collaborate with to deliver creative programmes for carers. These organisations have a hugely positive impact on the communities where they work, despite an increasingly difficult financial environment, and we’d like to thank them all for their life changing work.

Keep an eye on our blog and social media for a profile of a different Carer Friendly partner organisation each day this week. You can find more information about Carers Week on the campaign’s website.

Nicky Goulder, Founding Chief Executive

Winchester young carers put their imaginations in motion

Winchester 2016
Winchester 2016

WINCHESTER YOUNG CARERS PUT THEIR IMAGINATIONS IN MOTION

Earlier this month, our professional artist Chloe Cooper – who has exhibited at the ICA and Tate Modern – worked with 10 young carers from Winchester & District Young Carers to produce a collection of short animated films.

Through sharing imaginative ideas, they pieced together their own 2D worlds to put in motion, igniting their creative thinking and forging friendships along the way. art:space was delivered in partnership with Whiteley Shopping Centre thanks to funding from British Land.

During a series of workshops, Chloe guided the group through the essentials of stop-motion animation, introducing the motif of ‘Who I Am’ as a thematic seed from which the young carers’ ideas could bloom. Taking creative control, the young people crafted characters and storyboards inspired by their personal interests, overdubbing voiceovers and audio effects to add further dynamism to the pieces. Photographing their scenes frame-by-frame, their stories came to life, with the sessions producing inspired (and somewhat surreal!) creations. With the young carers’ imaginations free to roam, we stepped into worlds where talking pizzas narrowly escape the tyranny of a ‘Zebra of Doom’, and transportational vortexes lure festival-goers into entrapping video game-worlds. Embracing the group’s sense of humour and gift for the fantastical filled the sessions with positivity, making for three fun-filled days of creativity during the Easter holidays.

75% of carers struggle to maintain relationships with family and friends due to the stress their caring roles can entail. Our art:space programme provides young carers with a chance to balance their caring responsibilities with time to pursue their own creative interests, enabling them to build new skills and supportive relationships. Young carer, Laurence commented on the workshops: “I was able to put my creativity to the test and to create a great animation! I have never done animation before but I have certainly developed new skills. I felt that my thoughts and opinions were listened to”.

Launch of creative:together LGBT project

creative together 2016
creative together 2016

NEW LGBT PROJECT LAUNCHED

February 2016 marked the beginning of creative:together, a new LGBT Youth Creative Arts Programme developed by Create in partnership with METRO Charity and international law firm Ashurst.

Over the next few months we are running four sets of creative workshops for young LGBT people who attend METRO Charity’s youth groups led by our professional photographer, musician, actor and visual artist.

The project was launched in February with workshops led by our professional photographer Tracey Fahy, who worked with a group of METRO’s youth group members supported by Ashurst volunteers. Exploring diversity, alternative family models and relationships, the young people experimented with portraiture – looking at both themselves and each other – to explore identities within the group through photography. For inspiration we took them first to Islington Museum’s current exhibition ‘Twilight People: Stories of Faith and Gender Beyond the Binary’ and then on an LGBT walk around Soho.

A study undertaken by the LGBT Foundation found that more than half of students have witnessed homophobic bullying in school while Public Health England has reported that LGBT young people are at greater risk of becoming socially isolated because of their sexual identity. Through our new creative:together programme, we are offering young LGBT people the opportunity to develop friendships and strengthen their support network by taking part in collaborative creative workshops. These provide a space in which difference is celebrated, discrimination is countered and positive wellbeing is a collective goal.

Daniel (not his real name), who took part in the photography workshops, commented, “The arts can be quite therapeutic. They can also help us express ourselves through identity and can help us find ourselves too. Art, drama, public expression, they all contribute to the whole social attitude towards the LGBT community and it’s just better to keep it in the light rather than in the shadows all the time. Projects like this not only strengthen the pathways of our own education mentally and creatively, but they also allow us to branch out to others and communicate, connecting with new people that you wouldn’t necessarily meet in the immediate community that you live in.”

This article is from 2016.

Food For Thought 2016

Food For Thought 2016
Food For Thought 2016

FOOD FOR THOUGHT 2016

Food for Thought is our partnership project with Pret Foundation Trust. This provides monthly creative arts workshops for ex-offenders and homeless people on Pret’s Apprenticeship Scheme, enabling them to develop social skills and confidence as they prepare for permanent full-time employment. (This article is from 2016.)

Only 2% of homeless people are currently in full-time employment despite 77% expressing the desire to work.

Through our workshops, 60 apprentices each year have the opportunity to work with our professional artists. During 2015/15, they have been expressing themselves through Rosemary Harris’ and James Baldwin’s drama and writing workshops respectively, and channelling their musical energy with songwriter Aga Serugo-Lugo.

Kayley, an ex-offender, expressed how she felt the drama workshops had benefited her: “They give you a clean slate. I’ve proven myself because I know who I am now and I ended up getting a permanent job”. Have a read of some of the participants’ poems below as they explore feelings of isolation, frustration, denial and hope.

Unspoken

All I think about is the things I never said
All the conversations missed and pages never read.
If I wrote a book, would you look?
Maybe run away
Hot under the collar
Like a jumper on a summer day.
All these situations I can’t move past
All my dedication, isolation.

Untitled

I can see the sky is blue
But my mind is stuck in grey scale
Not understanding, grasping, food for thought
Why are we fasting?
Time flies and we say it’s precious
Yet we waste so much
Procrastination is contagious
To feel is not to touch
The difference is similarity
Cloudiness is clarity, hot is cold
Young is old, selfishness is charity
You laugh when you’re mad at me.

Untitled

The train by a fraction departed
My day was ruined before it had started
I can’t be late
I can’t translate
A journey once draught now slanted.

Denial

I wish I knew back then the person I would become
Wrong crowds invite misconceptions, so how can I blame you?
How can I show you your warped ideals
By harvesting the parade of my own greatness
Would you look? Would you care? Would you accept and understand?
Quake under this new friend knowledge?
Don’t be afraid of who you are.

Untitled

I was young, I never had a chance to say goodbye.
See what I have become now
So I throw my fist and do a punch
I send down a wish from a place up above
I feel so empty but I dance my way through
Thick and thin when your good isn’t good enough
All that you touch tumbles down inside of me
And it hurts so bad I can hardly breathe
With a sharp knife for a short life
I’ve had just enough time
So I put on my best suit and play with my toys
What I never said was done
Fake face, fake eyes, I see everything in black
But deep down I feel colour
And that’s what he would have liked.