Veterans · Military Families · All who have suffered trauma

A world of words that heals

FLOW is a safe, open community where poems, stories, letters and lyrics help people process trauma, share their truth, and feel less alone — in honour of our late patron, Dame Vera Lynn.

Scottish Charitable Organisation · SC050666 · Don't worry about spelling — just write

20%

of people exposed to mass violence develop PTSD

8M+

adults diagnosed with PTSD in a given year

more likely — women are disproportionately affected by PTSD

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My Room Full of Demons

Oh yeah, come on in, but mind how you go. It’s dark in this room, and there's hazards you know. There’s boxes and boulders and bodies as well. And watch for that trapdoor; it leads straight to hell. So what do you want? You’ll need to go soon. You won't want to stay...

B.V

The B V. Across rough terrain Or trundling into battle. The BV would be strapped in. So the bloody thing didn't rattle. The BV was a life support machine. More important than the vehicle itself. It or they sat just above the first aid kit. On the back door, on a...

Safe Working from the floor

Safe working from the floor I’m perfectly safe working from the floor . I’ve worked at height on Emley Moor To trim an Apple tree is not an Arm Wrestle I wouldn’t have to use a trestle, A stack of metal would act as my floor Then I could get busy with my Saw Finishing...

Sappers Friend

Sappers friend Please dont believe the world will end because now you’ve become a Sappers friend Loyal , humorous a bit of a lad A caring loving smashing Dad A loving , providing husband too Who all your life will take care of you. Able to cope with most of the S**t...

Just a Boy

Just a Boy The prisoner was marched out at dawn Looking lonely and forlorn Hands tied, blindfolded and afraid Sick, tired and betrayed Just a boy who got shell shock Sentenced to be shot His mother cried when the telegram came Executed as a coward: he was to blame No...

You – Me – Split

In all of the acts that my mind has created The one that hurts most is the hider, the faded. The one that won't tell you the pain that I’m in. The one that is buried so deep in my sin. I’m dying in here my thinking’s all twisted. My names are so many but none of...

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Farewell

The news was expected her time was to close The news stories written of our fine English rose Our thoughts and our thinking said she’d be fine Our long-reigning monarch who stood against time But come the day did on the 8th of September That our Queen had now passed a...

A Name On the Menin Gate

A Name on the Menin Gate He went to war like a lamb My Great Uncle Daniel Blindly walking into the Lion’s Den Did he think it was a lark? Or just happy to play his part A war to end all wars Over by Christmas they said Those with a wise head Opted for safety instead...

Mac and Vera

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What Makes A Man

Once your war is over Once your rifle’s stowed away Once you’re home safe and alive To see another day You’ll stand tall beside your comrades And remember those you’ve lost You’ll burst with pride yet deep inside Your mind will count the cost And you’ll bottle those...

A Poem For Veterans

I wish you could tell them just how you feel about the torment and fear And pain in your heart, about the sadness you felt , not just for yourself but for friends you held dear They were your comrades and you held them close, just when you needed them the most To hear...

Upon Receiving a Wartime Letter of Condolence

The hand that had caressed himNow held a pen she kept for best.When she was a child,she would lose herself,In the cloudy blue grey swirls of its shaft.The words would not come at first.Then hesitantly they arrived.‘much appreciated’; ‘great comfort’;So...

The fate of the protester

Michael Thorne could spend all summer listening to the sounds of The Doors and The Stones through the tinny speakers, the basslines reverberating under his feet and through his body. Every so often, a chant would rise above Mick Jagger or Jim Morrison, the voices of...

Coming home

It had been 4 years to the day since Robert had left to fight in Iraq. Jennifer felt a wave of emotions rush through her as she attached the balloons to the ceiling. She could almost feel the day he had left as if it were yesterday, not knowing when or whether she...

Mr Beecham’s coat

Sidney Pickles placed his cup of tea and newpaper in the space he’d cleared next to the till. He unfolded the Illustrated London News and scanned the headline. Blimey, what was the world coming to? John Lennon marrying a Japanese woman? That wasn’t news, that was –...

Navex RBS

( Navigation Exercise Radar Bombing System ) Having transferred fuel from one wing tank to another to bring the Vulcan aircraft's centre of gravity within the required tolerance, I set the calculator aside and relaxed. The soft lights from the instrument panel...

The flowers’ dawn

She opened her eyes as the dawn was crawling into the room through the badly-fitted wooden planks replacing now the broken window panes. She felt her husband’s warm breath on her shoulder and remained still and quiet like the red petals entangled in her long black...

John & Fred & Mary & Marcia

They were alone at last. He was feeling possessive, impulsive and seductive; she submissive. They were longing for it to happen, but they had difficulty putting their thoughts and desires into words. What resulted was a series of unfinished sentences, but they got...

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"Through my own experiences in talking with the boys and girls about their thoughts on war and how they felt about going into action… through poetry they express themselves with absolute clarity, deep feeling and simplicity. I only have to read 'In Flanders Field' or Kipling's 'Tommy' to fully appreciate and be thankful for the beauty of FLOW. We must never forget them."

Dame Vera Lynn DBE — Our late patron, 1917–2020

Dame Vera Lynn, patron of FLOW for All