15th CRY Parliamentary Reception – 23rd November 2016 – poem by Kathryn Badon

Adrian MFCRY awareness week was buzzing,
And I was given a delight,
Two tickets for the Parliamentary Reception,
For a very special night.
My MP he was willing,
Greg Mulholland there to have his say
Recognising it’s a worthy cause,
Supporting screening all the way.

The speakers giving a strong message,
To those with Parliamentary power,
The numbers of young people quite shocking
As SADS brings their final hour.
Over six hundred in each year,
So quietly and quickly meet their death,
No time to say a last goodbye,
Before taking one last breath.

Leaving behind such devastation, Bitter sadness and deep loss,
But without consistent data
CRY cannot show the human cost.
So big strides to be taken
To get things all in hand,
For only a few million,
The progress to be made would be quite grand.
If we can save young people’s lives,
So far less have to suffer,
The terrace pavilion would not be full
Of so many fathers and mothers,
Saving 89% of lives,
Quite a target to be had.
Searching for that excellence
Is what makes Helen and Steve Cox glad.

So here is to the progress
CRY has made in 20 years,
I heard all the speakers were saying,
And I could not fight back the tears.
We’ve had to accept the unacceptable
And dig deep just to survive,
Because when you lose a precious child,
You no longer want to be alive.
But CRY can give that ray of hope,
Support in may ways
Slowly building your resilience,
So you do have better days,
United in our sorrow,
We learn how sadness can be shared,
Together we can sometimes learn,
And thus some sanity is spared.

Kathryn Badon