Dark Bridge - First Poem

The Poem

Now that the dark bridge

Has gone to sleep at last, I

Can sneak over it

The story about the poem, the first I ever wrote

I was maybe 12 or 13, when in school in the year 2000 Waterstones did a huge competition across schools searching for Haiku poems. It was my first real experience with Haiku that I can remember.

Still to this day I have the paper where I was announced a winner. I won the first prize and it came at a time in life when there was nothing to look forward to. Crazy saying that but the poem reflects my life at that time.

Everything in my home life was dark. Many aspects had me hiding either in my bedroom or out of the house to avoid it. As a child I can say I closed off my mind. This is likely why I have so little memories of my past. It was only when the household was asleep my mind would let me take everything in.

The silence of sleep was the safety, the noise of the awake brought darkness which seeped into my mind.

It wasn't until recently that I looked back at the poem and realised. The dark bridge was my family, and certain people within it. At the time when I wrote it, I made no connection.

Now however I do. This poem was the start of something. I remember visiting the announcement at Waterstones with both my mother and father, looking back now. Seems crazy for them to be standing together, and no darkness lurking.

I vaguely remember being called up to accept my reward. After this, social workers who visited often got me tickets to watch a live performance poetry piece at Leeds Art Gallery I believe.

That day I remember. I had never been to the city centre. I was devasted as my sister took us around places but we never found it. I never did get to watch the show I had tickets to.

This competition though paved my way to writing. I still now, despite reaching out to waterstones can not find the book that the poems were published in.

I remember at the event we were told all the winning poems were in the book. My parents didn't buy it, and twenty-three years later I am still searching.

Below are images of what I have left from that day.