Yellow Leather Jacket Poet

Kathryn O’Driscoll 🏳️‍🌈☘️🖋 Spoken word artist based in South West England. Poet. Activist. Event manager. Disabled. Queer. Mentally Ill. Fake leather. Real poetry. Mainly available on Instagram @yellowleatherjacketpoet

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An excerpt from a new poem about a symptom of my major depression called Psychomotor Retardation. Which can sometimes leave my limbs feeling too “heavy” to move and has at times left me pinned to the floor. Unable even to change positions to stop my tears going into my nose. It’s not a pleasant symptom at all and I’m trying to make more people aware of it because I experienced this for years before realising this isn’t specifically what people meant when they said “I couldnt get out of bed”. Nervous to share this but.. . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #majordepressiveepisode #depressiveepisode #depression #personalitydisorder #symptoms https://www.instagram.com/p/CGYcpS_FtPY/?igshid=tdup6rsxxfhu

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A little love poem in memory of my Granny. Been thinking about her a lot recently. How I love her too broadly to be able to distinguish her with words so there’s almost no poetry in my huge catalogue about someone who is so fundamentally a part of me. Been trying to change that by pinning down small moments. This time i was thinking about how her hands shook terribly when she crossed the kitchen with the hot teapot. How she was always afraid of embarrassing herself or us, not knowing that in my eyes she is perfection. . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #grandmother #granny #irish #grandma #memory #nostalgia #death #loss #grief #grieving #missingyou https://www.instagram.com/p/CGAn_qRlKYQ/?igshid=1kfxzbowba9ms

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Mad love to my love who asked “did you really do this?” with a face of horror. 😂 Sorry babe xx . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #artistsoninstagram #poetryislife #poetryis #poemsofinstagram #poetryporn #poemoftheday #surreal https://www.instagram.com/p/CF-qWSoF5UC/?igshid=gufj3vccyplf

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Inspired by this photo from Pixabay that reminded me of all softness and sweetness. 💛💚 . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #kp #love #lovepoems #lgbtqia #lgbtqiapoetry https://www.instagram.com/p/CF7E59AFxRv/?igshid=enzsl0kyntqo

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☕️ 🌪 trying to write more this month. Fingers crossed 🤞 . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #igpoet #igpoetry #poetryislife https://www.instagram.com/p/CF4uQ8rlIjz/?igshid=1s730r1by9e48

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Just a little scrap of poem that reared it’s head in the incredible @ceciliaknapp’s workshop tonight. Go follow Cecilia she’s amazing 😍 as a workshop facilitator and as a poet. Go! 💛 . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #autumn #autumnvibes #fall #fallvibes #leaves #nature #igpoetry #instapoet #instapoetry #instapoem #poetryis #poetryisalive 🍁 https://www.instagram.com/p/CFxcFOWl3ml/?igshid=1khc1qcwvl98z

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Pre COVID. . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #covid_19 #covid #quarantine #shielding #shielded #pandemicpoetry #poetryis #poetryislife https://www.instagram.com/p/CFv818Il-Wb/?igshid=6k8gm63413n4

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Growing. . . Image from Pixabay. . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #nature #growth #poemsofinstagram #igpoetry #igpoet https://www.instagram.com/p/CFtCv_Wl1NW/?igshid=mj5rk3ruribp

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The Legend of County Louth. . . . This poem I wrote about my grandmother for the @poetrybattles #PB20cashprize battle. I got inspired by so many lines (I saved 129 in total!) but in the end I could see a pattern emerging. My brain wanted to write about the loss of my maternal grandmother who I was very very close to. Probably because last week we lost our family dog who was paramount to the care of my maternal grandfather who had dementia until he died a few years ago. My grandparents had a true love story and were together and married for over 70 years. I miss them both so much. I’ve written more about my grandfathers passing. Writing about Granny is always too difficult. She’s too hard to pin down. She was just the soft and tough Irish love and warmth personified. And that is incredibly difficult to put into meaningful description. But what I can describe is the aching of her absence. In describing the pain of her going I hope people can imagine the beauty of her being. . . . In this battle we had to pick 3 semi finalists from the Poetry Battles All Stars season 20 and take a line from each of their poems. I chose lines from @ephraimnehemiah’s Reverse poem, @ryan.boyland’s Music poem and @fablegoldsmith’s Reverse poem because I wanted lines completely unrelated by theme or style or formatting to challenge me. Thank you so much to those writers for these lines. Please please PLEASE go read the original poems cos they are all incredible. You can see the lines as they were in full on the last slide. Did you guess which ones were inserted? Let me know! . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #louth #death #bereavement #bereaved #loss #grief #grieving https://www.instagram.com/p/CFkOJYPFcAL/?igshid=6kgz22kqhklo

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Yesterday was crazy, exhausting and exhilarating. Great to perform alongside the iconic @reecelyons_ @keithjlondon @woodzygram and @probablytomfoolery hosted by the undisputable legend @benjamin.zephaniah. HUGE thanks to everyone at @cplproductions for looking after me, especially Robyn and @isaacgnartey 💙 . . For now, as Reece put it; stay tuned. @skyarts #LifeAndRhymes ✨✌️🎥 https://www.instagram.com/p/CFewZ-oFe94/?igshid=1dyj8ecyywslf

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Another reverse poem (can be read as normal or by reading each line from the last line to the first). . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting https://www.instagram.com/p/CFaFNdcFuHn/?igshid=e1fqh7jwwpt0

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This poem I wrote a while ago for some of my friends who I was working with for a poetry competition over a few months. (@uni_slam). I’m sharing it today as my #PB20BattleBack poem as part of the @poetrybattles All Stars competition. But I still have to dedicate it to the lovely folks who inspired it, and me. I love you guysssss 💕 . . Dedicated to @all_the_positives98 @meganbaxterwriter @bird_and_thebee @sophia_irene_writes @raina.greifer @alexdoeswords and @just.alex.c plus all the amazing poets and organisers involved in @uni_slam 2020 and @handtbristol which is indirectly spoken of in the first section. . . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #uni_slam #poets #friendship #friends #community https://www.instagram.com/p/CFPd-xfFpkP/?igshid=g4u6bj9a5egu

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Another chunk torn out, today we lost our family dog of 12 years Vinny. It brought up a lot of old losses as well as this fresh one and today my heart is a bit chew toy that’s had its squeak ripped out. . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #loss #grief #bereavement #heartbreak #death https://www.instagram.com/p/CFFSqZtlBUm/?igshid=j6lctbfi0ob8

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My #AllStarReversePoem for Round 2 of @poetrybattles All Stars. For this round we were challenged to come up with a reverse poem (a poem that can be read in reverse). I’ve added the poem backwards in slide 2 to make it easier to read but I hope you enjoy. 📞💻📱 . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting https://www.instagram.com/p/CFCh9i3FcIE/?igshid=fzl7q6aakwz4

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Here is my entry for Round 1 of @poetrybattles’ All Stars season. The prompt was to write a portrait and use the title ‘Portrait of ___ As ___’. I chose to write about my communication issues rooted in my personality disorder and how that’s linked to my anxiety levels in this poem. I hope you like it, thanks to the coach for my team (Team Orion) @niel.smith.poetry and thanks to my Poetic Justice pals @deesoulpoetry @adeto.kunbo @truethepoet @wordswasteher and the glorious @sianmariepoetry for keeping my morale up when I struggled with this one (my mind was distracted by the U.K. poetry regionals last night.) . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #bees #savethebees #anxiety #mixedpersonalitydisorder #personalitydisorder #borderlinepersonalitydisorder #bpd #mentalhealth #mentalillness #nature #allstarsportrait https://www.instagram.com/p/CEw7cA1FtZc/?igshid=1d586pcemmmk5

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This is the transcription for my spoken word piece ‘Sometimes’. Trigger warning ⚠️ for complex PTSD and sexual abuse. . . . I’ll be performing this poem tonight at 7pm EST live on @poetrybattles Instagram live slam as part of my team (Team Poetic Justice) with my topic which was toxic relationships. #PBknockout2. So if you wanna see me perform it check it out tonight (or catch the replay in their feed afterwards) ❤️ . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #complexptsd #ptsd #triggerwarning #sexualabuse #trauma #sexualassault #metoo https://www.instagram.com/p/CEC0u4TpqSu/?igshid=gmbfnriuc5y9

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Okay listen sometimes you write something fucking weird cos the world feels fuckin weird. It happens. 😂 I make no apologies for this madness. Stay home. Stay safe. . . . 🧥🖋💕 Copyright Kathryn O’Driscoll. . Follow PoetryOD on Twitter and Facebook. . . . . . . . . Boring hashtag bit: . #writingcommunity #poetsofig #writerscommunity #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #wordporn #poetrycommunity #poet #poem #writersofinstagram #writing #writer #poetry #poems #amwriting #covid19 #quarantine #pandemic https://www.instagram.com/p/CEAOfv5FD7f/?igshid=acdtfi05c8y8