Love and hate, generous and greedy Kind and cruel, independent and needy Lead and follow, good and bad Release and hold, happy and sad Optimist and pessimist, high and low Child and adult, yes and no Honest and dishonest, weak and strong Content and jealous, right and wrong Help and hinder, shallow and deep Silent and loud, sow and reap Healthy and ill, busy and lazy Certain and doubt, sane and crazy Laugh and cry, fall and rise Sweet and bitter, ignorant and wise Passive and aggressive, cool and warm Give and take, calm and storm Feminine and masculine, joy and pain Saint and sinner, modest and vain Clever and foolish, slow and fast Change and stagnate, fail and pass Teacher and student, young and old Courage and fear, shy and bold.

Born in Kent, I spent most of my early life in Aberystwyth and now live in Cornwall with my husband and our son. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1994 at the age of 33. It was very confusing, especially for my family, as I was manic and oblivious. I was heavily medicated for nearly 2 years, which made me emotionally numb, and I had been admitted to psychiatric hospitals three times, last time in 1997. I have had many episodes since, though I learnt to control the illness to some extent and I rarely have lows, mostly highs. Many positive things have happened since my diagnosis – I now work for a local mental health charity, helping to eradicate the stigma associated with mental ill health; I hope that my poems are a way of doing this also.