Tag Archives: mental health poetry

Latest poem from my book – Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken

By Matthew McKenzie, facilitator of National ethnic mental health carers forum

Welcome to my first blog for 2026.

I am working on a new poetry project linked to my forum and poetry groups. This poem turned into song is written from the perspective of an unpaid ethnic mental health carer, and explores identity, pride, self-worth, and refusing shame in systems that don’t always listen or recognise lived experience.

The poem is taken from my forthcoming poetry book in development,
Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken (due 2026), which centres the voices of ethnic mental health carers and aligns closely with the aims of PCREF (Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework), particularly around listening, inclusion, and lived experience shaping systems.

I’m using poetry and creative formats as another way to:

  • amplify carer voices
  • explore race and care with honesty
  • support conversations about equity, culture, and confidence in mental health services

If this resonates with your work, community, or organisation, please feel free to share.
Listening is an act of care.

Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken: A New Spoken Word Poem

By Matthew Mckenzie – facilitator of national ethnic mental health carers forum

I’m pleased to share “Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken”, a spoken word poetry video that marks the first poem released from my forthcoming poetry collection of the same name.

This first poem speaks from within the lived reality of unpaid mental health carers, particularly those from ethnic and marginalised communities whose labour is often overlooked, misunderstood, or taken for granted. It reflects moments many carers will recognise: waiting rooms, misrecognition, quiet endurance, and the strength it takes to keep showing up without acknowledgement.

🎥 Watch the spoken word video here:

The wider collection I am currently working on brings together poems shaped by care, fatigue, love, resilience, and survival. It is a body of work rooted in lived experience and community voices, offering poetry not only as expression, but as witness and affirmation.

This first poem sets the tone for what is to come, promoting honest, reflective, and unapologetic in its call for carers to be seen, heard, and respected.

This work is part of my ongoing commitment through my A Caring Mind youtube channel to use creativity as a way to challenge stigma, amplify unheard voices, and centre care as a vital social contribution.

More poems from this collection will be shared in the coming months.

“Listen to Me” – A Carer’s Plea Turned into Song

Caring for someone with a mental illness is an emotional, often isolating experience. Unpaid carers—whether they are family members, friends, or loved ones—carry immense responsibility, yet their voices can feel unheard, especially within the healthcare system.

One of my poem’s “On Being Heard” taken from my book The Poetry Book of Mental Health Caring, captures this struggle with raw honesty.

Continue reading →

The book you should be reading this month

my face plus book‘Please Hear What I’m Not Saying’ is a poetry anthology featuring 116 poets, all writing about mental health. The profits from this book go to UK Charity, Mind.

Editor Isabelle Kenyon compiled the anthology following an international submission call out. Contributors were enthused by a common goal to raise money for the charity, Mind.

With poems focusing on mental health from a wide range of experiences (covering topics such as grief, trauma, anxiety, poverty, Alzheimer’s and therapy), the book aims to continue the worldwide conversation about mental health.

contents

Isabelle comments: ‘As an editor, I have not been afraid to shy away from the ugly or the abstract, but I believe that the anthology as a whole is a journey – with each section the perspective changes. I hope that the end of the book reflects the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for mental health and that the outcome of these last sections express positivity and hope.’’

You can buy the book on Amazon here: Please Here What I am Not Saying

Reader Photos

And more information about the project here: https://www.flyonthewallpoetry.co.uk/mind-poetry-project

Mind Anthology