Therapeutic Poetry brought to life by the talented Chris Meredith

Chris Meredith brought his magical poetry to life for our Residents this afternoon, one of our dear Residents even shared her wonderful poem 'My 90th Birthday' with Chris that she had written some time ago. Berkshire poet, Chris, decided to put his poetry to good use by creating a programme of workshops to help unlock the memories of older people in care homes and day centres in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Oxford, Surrey and Middlesex. Chris writes about the ups and downs of working with older people suffering from dementia, physical disabilities and emotional problems.
Five years ago the words tumbled out of Chris, thousands of them, all of them in the form of poems. In 2015 his first anthology 'Words of My Life' was published. Not content just to sell a few hundred copies, he searched for ways to make use of the emotions he expressed in the poems. Chris is a true inspiration, we had an extremely positive reaction from our Residents and we look forward to welcoming Chris back to Glebe House in the very near future.
Here is a poem Chris wrote:
When The Clock Goes Back
© Chris Meredith 2016
(Inspired by the ideas & memories of Glebe House Nursing Home)

Nature swings into reverse when the light fades
Squirrels skit and scurry at the end of summer days
Plants recede, their colours a mix of shades
As autumn arranges a red, brown and yellow display
-
Cows and deer mingle in the autumn mist
Coats put on as all the mums insist
Light dewdrops settle on spider's webs, natures kiss
As summer says goodbye and no longer resists
-
Parties and fun occur in the dark
The black heavy skies obscure the tree lark
Cold frosty mornings and walks in the park
The strange distant sounds, coloured mushrooms on tree barks

Smoked wood smell and Bonfires crack
Conkers collected and placed in a sack
Apples smell sweet, a delightful night snack
This is what happens when the clock goes back