Literature life lines in celebration of World Mental Health Day 

With World Mental Health Day approaching on Saturday, there’s never been a more important moment for us to stop and think about ‘mental health for all’, and what that means as we continue to live through the coronavirus pandemic. 

Sometimes we might find ourselves craving comfort, at other times escapism or lively conversation, or stillness and calm; throughout it all, we are searching for meaning. 

With this in mind, we’re sharing here a selection of ten poems that reflect the changing times we find ourselves in. 

It’s been tough recently… 

Composed During a Storm by William Wordsworth 

Later Life (Sonnet 17) by Christina Rossetti 

Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson 

My Own Heart by Gerard Manley Hopkins 

The Rain Was Ending and Light by Laurence Binyon 

Affliction (extract) by Sir John Davies (this is also available in Bread and Roses: Part Two) 

A Thing of Beauty by John Keats 

Say Not The Struggle Naught Availeth by Arthur Hugh Clough 

Lost Time by Rabindranath Tagore (this is also available in Bread and Roses: Part Four) 

The Call by Charlotte Mew