Broken care

The last few years of the 1970's were a wild time for me.

My mum was suffering with mental illness in and out of hospital while trying to look after my disabled sister (born 1976)
Punk was just what I needed!



Stoke House May 19th 1980 - Jan 9th 1981

I was totally off the rails by 1980.
I was put into the care of the local authority. A mixed unit to a 15 year old boy? Absolute heaven!
The staff did nothing to stop it, they at least should have tried.

My time in a children's home and how it still affects me some 40 yrs on.



Broken Care

They only wanted to be loved but I was just fifteen
A perfect time for me to enter where I'd never been
This should have been a place that was the safest and secure
For all of us to feel we were protected by the law
To me it was a game we played and one I always won
How could I have known I was so young that damage would be done
The people there they failed us by the way they did behave
But I blame myself for hurting you and I'll take this to the grave

Johnnie
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Reviews

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Very touching and heartfelt words. To heal from pain sometimes we need to hear it from our own lips. To recognize and come to face it, and forgive ourselves for it. Thank you for sharing your poem with us. It was truly moving.