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

Latest contributions

View all →

PAYING THE PRICE

PAYING THE PRICE A simple poppy of red and black, Reminds us of those never coming back, A stone memorial instead of a grave, Records the names of lives they gave. In uniform and civilian suit, Men silently stand to take the salute, A minutes silence for their eternal...

My Second Poem – Poppies

POPPIES In the stamens of red poppies See the eyes of dead men marching, See the glitz and glam of Empire, All the swagger, stomp and strutting, All the bugles, drums and bagpipes, Swirling kilts and horses clipping, Nostrils twitching smelling battle, Hearing thunder...

My First Poem – TOM

TOM “It’s only a scratch,” Said Tom, yet I’m still Here, still able to wheel myself round and See others that I’m told are worse than me And remember, with crystal clarity, Rorking carrions above the clearing Smoke and feel their wings flap-splatting in the Blood.”Get...

THE EMPTY CHAIR

THE EMPTY CHAIR There it stays, the empty chair, Where once our Rory sat there, It stays there empty day by day, It’s been like that since Rory went away. Rory enlisted to do his bit, The army took him, found him fit, Whisked away to a bloody war, That’s the last of...

HOMELESS AND HELPLESS

HOMELESS and HELPLESS The streets are cold, the pavements bare, That’s what it’s like when home’s nowhere, Life turns on a sixpence, I’ve heard them say, World turned upside down in just one day. I have my story, you have yours, It never rains but it always pours,...

IN MEMORIAM – 11th NOVEMBER

IN MEMORIAM - 11th NOVEMBER There are war memorials all over this land, Silent and cold wherever they stand, As silent as those who paid with their life, Left their loved ones, family or wife, As cold as they ground in which they lay, Probably in some soil so far...

No Results Found

The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.

No Results Found

The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.

THE FALLEN

THE FALLEN The order came, it was to do or die, Soldiers offered a prayer to the sky, To do their duty that fateful day, Cross the battlefield where enemy lay. A hail of bullets, a crash of shell, No-mans land was a living hell, Noise and smell attacked their senses,...

Blood Red Poppies

BLOOD RED POPPIES Poppies, poppies, as far as can be seen, Growing by the wayside or in a foreign field, Blood red and growing in masses wild, Where many a soldiers fate was sealed. Small and fragile like someone’s life, Growing together in a haze of red, In many a...

passchendaele 1917

The land is killing me the soil weights a ton I had to carry all my kit helmet and gun. The land is killing me the mud and stones of passchendale are heavy and keep me on the ground. I cry out for my mother please listen to my cries the tears are so heavy as the fall...

Knife Crime Poem Two

As each day and night goes by you can hear the sound of a familys cry another young person has lost their life at the hands of somone carrying a knife. A moment of madness the snap of a mind why cant young people be loving and kind the grief and sadness will never be...

Knife Crime Poem One

Another day another night one more stabing after a fight Family and friends fighting the tears what can they do to save other familes fears. One more young persons life has been lost it is such a waste of a life and a terrible cost grief and sadness all around you can...

Living With Cancer

This is for anyone going through this with family or friends. My life with cancer is still my life it brings withit all the trouble and strife Most of the time I am in pain but this is my life time and time again. My life with cancer it is not so good somtimes it...

Wireless Ridge

( The Falklands 1982 ) We'd tabbed around the back of Mount Kent,passing the mortar positions. Some of the guys on the mortar line, had broken their ankles. This was due to the boggy ground, and the inability to get the mortars to bed in properly. So they'd stood on...

The Crown Agent’s Horse

There was a polite knock on the office door. The Naval Lieutenant Commander looked up from his paperwork and called out 'Come in!' A smartly dressed WREN opened the door and stood in the doorway. 'Chief Petty Officer Bickerell to see you, sir.' 'Oh yeh, ask him to...

Lonely march

As the years pass by, I sit in corners dark and safe Not the young carefree man of yesterday, but a lost and lonely grey man hopelessly drowning in my own thoughts, living with the knowledge of unchangeable yesterdays. I was so much but it means so little to so many...

Journey to the stars

I stand outside in my back garden. I have a glass of whiskey, it is warm from being held in my hand whilst I sat inside watching the night through the patio doors from the warm comfort of my sofa. The night sky is black crystal, perfectly clear, and yet impenetrable,...

My first trip to Pas de Calais

First a smooth ferry crossing, then down from Dunkerque to our friends for a meal. Woke up next day, by the sea in Wimereux! Did the shopping thing, the first day! Next day, Nigel and I walked up to Wimereux cemetery, along rue McCrae. First thought, was of pure...

My first (very) Short Story:

Driving home from a trip up north, having a terrible cold, i noticed i was beginning to doze off. With my brother in tow, already asleep by my side in the passenger seat I decided to stop off at a gas station by the side of the highway. I parked on the unmarked...

How to contribute

Share your poem, story, letter or lyrics with the FLOW community — it's free and simple.

Write freely

Don't worry about spelling or grammar. We want your words, in your way, exactly as you write them.

Register

Fill in our simple form to create your free FLOW account — it only takes a minute.

Submit

Upload your poem, story, letter or lyrics using our easy submission form.

Go live

After a friendly review, your writing goes live on FLOW for the world to read and respond to.

"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