Mental Health Australia

'Yet once again, here we stand' by Glenn Marsden

Yet once again, here we stand,

With mental health’s plight close at hand.

Questions posed to those in power,

Yet answers echo, hour by hour.

Matt Berriman resigns, his voice suppressed,

Unable to speak, he’s put to the test.

Chair of mental health, silenced by the fray,

Does his departure signal the system’s clear decay?

“We can do better,” they proclaim,

But where’s the change, where’s the aim?

Funding flows, yet somehow diverts,

To organizations still seeking spurts.

When is enough, enough, we plea,

As we witness mental health’s agony.

Despairing systems, lives at cost,

How many more before we exhaust?

Who will stand to speak aloud for change,

To break the cycle, to rearrange?

Or will we see another soul lost,

Tragedy striking, at such a cost?

Those in power, before the camera’s glare,

Promises galore, yet no action there.

“Let’s research some more,” their refrain,

While lives hang in the balance, in pain.

So much money poured into this space,

Yet only a few sessions, a mere trace,

Of help given before costs ensnare,

Leaving many adrift, in despair.

When funds are raised to lend a hand,

Why does reciprocity seem to disband?

Tragedies unfold, the “right” words said,

Yet why does the public bear this tread?

It’s time for change, for voices to unite,

To demand action, to stand and fight.

For mental health, for those in need,

Together, we can sow the seed.

- Written by @_glennmarsden