#3 Still Hingin Oan
“can you hear me / whit-dae-ye-ma-call-it / ehm, thingmy / aye, ahm feelin terrible”
Here we present another of the shortlisted entries in this year’s SMHAF Writing Awards – Still Hingin Oan by poet Brian Reid, who has been regularly shortlisted in the competition. Brian has also co-ordinated Connect to the Moment, a SMHAF event at Leverndale Hospital on Thursday 23 May.
can you hear me
whit-dae-ye-ma-call-it
ehm, thingmy
aye, ahm feelin terrible
naw, naw
really terrible
bad, doon
ye know, depressed
ehm ah feel
thingmy, suicidal
ken, ah cannae even
haud a fag
ah’m shakin that much
ur ye there
naw ah hivnae huddaa
fuckin thingmy, drink
no since last night when
whit-dae-ye-ma-call-it
ehm, Mary came roon
wae hur boay
and ah hit im
fur bein cheeky
tae his maw
she sent fur the polis
but it’s awright noo
ur ye listenin
thru in the thingmy
ah’ve goat a
whit-dae-ye-ma-call-it
ye know whit ah mean
whit have ah goat
a rope, tied up
in the kitchen fur
eh, eh
an they are tryin
tae tell me
that ah don’t need
tae see a doctur
you fuckin’jokin’ me
hullo
70 Stories is an online project curated by the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival to mark the 70th anniversary of the Mental Health Foundation.
The project connects stories from our Writing Competition, stories from SMHAF participants, and more in a compelling portrait of mental health in 2019.
Keep an eye on mhfestival.com/70stories for new entries in the series. If you are connected in some way to SMHAF or the Mental Health Foundation and would like to contribute a piece of writing to this project, please contact aeaton-lewis@mentalhealth.org.uk