Name: BBC Radio 4 Extra: Matilda by benmotley
Duration: 46 s
Description: BBC Radio 4 Extra trail for a drama that's so good people will probably name their children after it.

The Midwich Cuckoos

Midwich School

Dancing at Lughnasa

Dancing At Lughnasa

Insomnia (Original Series Soundtrack)

Dictaphone Numbers

Reminiscence

When my heart is heavy
and the world overwhelms me,
I lean into the memory of your gentleness.
I trace the limerent line of it with my thoughts
and it soothes me, still.
An ethereal anchor to another life.
Secret solace, from my now

Written and read by Helen J. Aitken ©
https://www.instagram.com/hjd_poems/

Reminiscence

BBC Radio 4 Extra trail for a drama that's so good people will probably name their children after it.

BBC Radio 4 Extra: Matilda

The rollercoaster beckons -
One red flag summoned a call to arms
and here I am, again.
The carriages are crammed
but there is space made for me
amongst an army of well-meaning medics
and fellow fear-filled faces
heading to an unknown destination.
It moves so fast and
I’m afraid to near it
yet, I am reassured that it is there
That there is a ride, to take
trusting there will be light at the end
as there was, before.
All I can do is hold on
and hope I am not not flung
into the abyss below -
A chasm of collective fear,
threatening to consume me.
That is not who I am.
Unsteady in my knowing
I take a step towards this familiar ride,
to release what no longer serves me
Forced onwards, I fight to stay present
It is my only means of control.
My mind is both enemy and friend -
an internal battle that I cannot lose.
Peace, my greatest weapon

Written and read by Helen J. Aitken ©2023
https://www.instagram.com/hjd_poems/

Turbulence

Grief has no timeline.
My mind replays the past
in vivid sentimental segments.
Thoughts race to an alien future -
a world forever changed
by all the junctures you will miss.
And then a rewinding, to the reality of now.
This punctured present moment 
passing quietly, without you
 

Written and read by Helen J. Aitken ©2025
www.instagram.com/hjd_poems/

For Mum. 

BBC Radio 4 Extra: Matilda

benmotley

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