About bipolar disorder Pendulum: stories and information Creativity and bipolar Poems At 60 years old Denis has been fighting bipolar for much of his adult life. His condition isn’t something that he's ever really spoken about before, but he feels it has allowed him to excel in many areas of his life particularly his creativity – he has been refining his artistic skills for the past 30 years. He is currently working on a collection of poems which he hopes to publish and he's kindly shared two of his these with us. MH MH is on the rise, frankly that is no surprise Growing pressure of everyday From work to pleasure, come what may There is a darkness that shrouds my mind It's heaviness near makes me blind Stress, strain I feel it drain the living life from me From the ticking clock which never stops It plays inside my brain Clockwork Orange Pill, red and blue Which rabbit hole will you go through? Alice staring through the looking glass A mirror of all that's past Yellow brick road that leads to OZ Only to discover there is no God Dorothy just click your heels For Kansas City was never real Fantasia was symphonic utopia Animal Farm had me alarmed 1984 was just a set of numbers Room 101 was just no fun 2020 was Covid-19 Spikes wasn't Milligan Nor did the government have a plan I was just a man Who clearly didn't understand Gender neutral, is not a gearbox Nor is wearing odd coloured socks I paint one nail just to be different Wear one eaaring to conform Never quite knowing which is the norm I like black, to hide my fat Does this mean I am mad Actually no Life is just a journey of discovery day by day Some like to follow rules Whilst others like to play MH Is part of me I can't hide or lie Yes, one day it will consume me Hopefully when I die. Bipolar Everyone run for the hills! This person’s very ill! Er… Cut. Let's start again bipolar is just a condition It doesn't mean you’re mad, sad or even very BAD. Misunderstood yes that may be So, let's take a look and see. Ask a bipolar person What they would say is their version. Gifted and very much misunderstood It's amazing how one could I'm like an open book for all to see Yeah some can wear their hearts on their sleeves Others are drama queens if you please. Yes, we swing from left to right sometimes so far that we're outta of sight But what does it matter We hear your chatter From as mad as a hatter to genius or insane It's not we need another label again We're actually quite stable Meds by the bedside table. We don't often fall We talk to counsellors and all Our world is fast n furious Some won’t keep up with our pace Johnny astronaut is in space Yes, we have things that spin in our mind A kaleidoscope of thoughts and philosophies Formula's equations and atrocities Patterns in the mix Leaves most people betwixt Our talent shows it all From our creations to our mess There is no one best We think outside the box as they really do not fit us We shape the world around us You see this is what we do. Most of us are artists in own right Having lived in a society that sees it as a plight We are by far the gifted of them all For we are God's handiwork Just like you would like to think Spare a thought the next time Not to judge us that are bipolar For we are human to. ©Denis Brown 2018