How do we explain our caring experiences when the words used in meetings, assessments and care plans do not quite capture what we want to say?
My latest PCREF poetry video, “Creativity as the Expression”, reflects on this question. It is Poem 41 from my upcoming poetry book, Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken, which explores the experiences of ethnic minority unpaid mental health carers.
When the words are difficult to find
As an unpaid carer, there can be times when you know what you have witnessed and understand what worries you, yet struggle to explain it in the language expected by services.
You might leave a meeting thinking about everything you wanted to say. The emotional weight of caring, family history and the everyday changes you notice do not always fit neatly into an assessment or a short conversation.
This poem begins with that struggle:
I struggle to speak the clinical language
I stumble on that path
but over the years I found a new way to express myself
Using that creativity as expression
For me, poetry offers space to find those words and express them in my own way.
Writing to cope, express and reveal
Writing gives me time to reflect on experiences that can be difficult to speak about. It allows feelings, memories and questions to take shape without the pressure of having to explain everything at once.
In the poem, I describe poetry as an art that helps me stay whole. That matters because carers also need opportunities to express who we are and how caring affects us.
Our creativity can reveal parts of our lives that others may never see during a meeting.
Reclaiming our own stories
Carers are often described through records, professional conversations and decisions made within services. Having the opportunity to tell our own stories matters.
“Creativity as the Expression” explores that wish to make the caring role visible and reclaim the narrative. Poetry allows us to speak from our own standpoint, using words that carry meaning for us.
It can also open a conversation. A poem may help someone pause, ask a question or recognise an experience they had not previously understood.
A connection to PCREF
My PCREF poetry work draws attention to the voices of ethnic minority unpaid mental health carers. PCREF stands for the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework.
Through this poem, I want to encourage reflection on whose voices are heard and which forms of expression are valued. Confidence with professional language should not determine how seriously a carer’s experience is taken.
The poem imagines creativity as a bridge: a way to communicate experiences that might otherwise be difficult to explain or record. For that bridge to work, there must also be a willingness to listen.
One voice can become many
The final verse moves from personal expression towards community:
My creativity will reveal that experience
My lived experience
I will share it back to others
Back to the community, where one voice can become many
Sharing a poem can help another carer recognise something from their own life. It can create a moment of connection and give others encouragement to share their experiences too.
I hope this video offers that invitation.
Watch the poem below, and please like, share and subscribe to A Caring Mind for more poetry and unpaid carer voices.
Watch “Creativity as the Expression” on YouTube
Please also keep an eye out for my upcoming poetry book, Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken.
Has poetry, art, music or another creative activity helped you express your caring experience? You are welcome to share your thoughts in the comments.
