You raced across the desert alone,
You were neither black or white but roan.
You were the drinker of winds, descended from ‘The Five’,
You were spirited and wilful and unashamedly alive.
But then one day a fear took hold
And tore up your dunes of sparkling gold,
Dried up the oases and stamped out the sun
And declared to all the battle was won.
That was until a wise woman came by
And told you not to despair or cry:
“For you and the Arab stallion are one and the same,
Beautiful beyond words just difficult to tame.”
By Sarah Mills
“I was inspired to write this poem after a conversation I had with my Mum about my OCD. She likened my brain to an Arab stallion because they are beautiful but sometimes difficult to tame. OCD sufferers often have beautiful minds but find it hard to handle their complex ways of thinking. This poem was my homage to my Mum’s words and a message to all sufferers that there is hope if we can learn to manage our doubt.
The first stanza describes me before the onset of OCD when my thinking was not so black and white. The second stanza describes my world with OCD and the final stanza refers to my Mum’s words and the fact that OCD is a part of me I cannot escape but can learn to live with.
*‘The Five’ is a reference to the legend of ‘Al Khamsa’.”