This next piece is from one of the only times I rang a helpline (the Samaritans). It to me expresses the difference helplines can make, and raises awareness of them. Check out the video on my accounts of it too. Its due to be published in the next RRRants anthology.

'So sad WAS I'

I dialled a number
A soft voice spoke
And talked gently
I spoke tentatively at first
But then...
Not so hurried
This voice filled me with care
It comforted me
That I could be heard
Listening intently
Ever so gently
A voice of understanding
At last!...
A short time passed
As I gasped but...
The pain
The pain was no longer alone
This beautiful voice
Had filled me with warmth
And before I knew it
An hour was over
Time spent
Rebuilding my faith
I spared a thought
For the others
Of need too
For I could have talked all night
This voice would let me
This voice could hear me
This voice could see me
This voice told me all this
It was then I knew
That this voice said...
I was someone

Copyright John Harrison 2009

Video on YouTube (also on Vimeo.com, DailyMotion and both my websites of course). Taken from my book 'Whispers From Within'.