Philip Golding
A ‘curved ball’ smacked me in the kisser; Parkinson’s disease had left its calling card.
Welcome to my poems that beam you up and boldly go where no Parkinson’s poetry has gone before. Whether you are able bodied or disabled these verses will provoke an array of emotions and mix them all up then place it in a pocket of your heart.
How could I help others understand how a disabled person feels, who lives life to the max, and has the same right to access all levels in this society? How could I put back some of the benefits that I have gratefully received? That is when I wrote my first poem ‘The Taming of the Fork’, one sleepless night on holiday with friends in Ilfracoombe.
My Parkinson’s has been enabling rather than disabling, which surprised me. I have been down to the depths of despair and come back laughing. Somehow my condition has made me a ‘richer’ person despite the changes that will inevitably come.
JOIN ME BETWIX THE SHEETS WHILST MY WORDS PAINT PICTURES
In April 2005 I had an appointment with my brilliant GP, Doctor McGawley after experiencing shakes in my left. I went for some tests to confirm whether it was an 'involuntary tremor' or Parkinson's disease. Guess which option won? When I was diagnosed it was like being dropped down a black hole, looking up and seeing your future disappearing to a tiny dot. This 'new future' voyage I could not have contemplated without the love and support of my wife Jen and my two boys, Tom and Jack.
How could I help others understand how a disabled person feels, who lives life to the max, and has the same right to access all levels in this society? How could I put back some of the benefits that I have gratefully received? That is when I wrote my first poem ‘The Taming of the Fork’, one sleepless night on holiday with close friends of ours in Ilfracoombe. Since then I have written extensively on my experiences as a Parkinson’s sufferer and have had several poems published. This book is the first step along a pathway, the end of which is a tale yet to be written.
Parkinson’s disease I have, to my surprise, found more enabling rather than disabling, has surprised me. I have been down to the depths of despair and back. Somehow my condition has made me a ‘richer’ person by opening me to a new world of possibilities. My disability means that I am not 100% in control of my world, but within my world of writing my words paint pictures. It helps me attempt to make sense of my ever changing world.
Writing colours my world, on a sea of possibilities to write about. I have a new blueprint with a new richer tomorrow for my family.
Crack in the Curtains
My family have finally fallen to sleep
I hear the gentle snoring and sleep chatter
Waiting for me on the end of my bed sits sleep
I turn my head to look at my wife and smile
Reclined, my eye lids heavily open and shut
Thought stones skim the ripples of conscious mind
Dropping off words and phrases along its path
Damsel flies skip on the waters surface
Each collects a letter, word and phrase in bags
Each container forces sleep to retreat from my bed
Match sticks prop open each eye, words cascade
Moonbeams illuminate my writing pad and pencil
Lifting my head I see an iridescent glow on my notes
I reach for my reading light; hand merges with tableau
The table solidifies as the reading light removes the dark
Slowly I draw myself up leaning against the headboard
Enraptured by beams my vision tracks to a crack in the curtains
Locked onto the moon my eyes were transported into the cool night air
