Morgen Batten
Age 3217 Apr 2026
Swindon, Wiltshire (United Kingdom)
Organ failure
Morgen was a social justice campaigner and a pivotal member of ACORN Union in Swindon. In their free time, they enjoyed writing, in particular poetry.
On Friday 17th April 2026, our much loved Morgen passed away peacefully surrounded by family and knowing their friends were on their way.
Morgen, autistic, suffered profound OCD, and immense grief after the death of their father to Covid in Jan 2021. They started drinking alcohol to ease symptoms, leading to addiction, and a serious leg fracture in August 2025. Despite showing incredible strength, they were unable to recover from their illnesses and escape alcohol addiction, and they passed away a few months before their 33rd birthday due to multiple organ failure.
We're raising funds to go towards Morgen's funeral and celebration of life.
We have the money available to give Morgen a basic funeral, but we know how many lives that they touched in their 32 years and we want to give the chance for some of those people to put whatever money they can spare towards giving Morgen the send-off that they deserve.
All donations, large or small, are greatly appreciated and will go towards the send-off and preserving the memory of our beloved Morgen. They made a bigger difference to Swindon and so many lives than they realised, and this is our chance to show them one last time.
Any donations will go towards the funeral and celebration of life, any excess donations will go towards a memorial of Morgen and/or donated to Alcohol Change UK, who are campaigning against the rapid online delivery of alcohol which contributed greatly towards Morgen's deterioration of health.
Some of Morgan's poetry is reproduced below:
I want to be seen, a real,
Tangible thing that fingerstrokes
Heal at its seams, not screams
As it waits in vapid rooms
Beige-dead, zombied to
A process that won't soon admit:
"Regretfully, you are human too."
I want to be seen, a fresh and
Lovely thing — dazzles its hindwings
In threat display! Alert prey
Starving to be shared by
Rows of smiling teeth
Voraciously snide as they decide
If I belong with humans too.
I want to be seen, and yes, by you,
Touched along those heartache
Grooves which I had splintered on
Strangely rewrought;
New-made, strong
Because I get to give them to
Someone who, before me, knew
I could only be so human too. Ordinary's a thing to be
If you're sane, and same and
Normally things go easily enough,
For sure, life's rough, but you'll get through it
tough. Don't like it?
There's no way out
One bout, you'll fight it,
even if you felt
Like you weren't supposed to be in this corner
Like ordinary's a thing you want, a
taunt yourself with 'why can't I'
And lie through your teeth—you don't die inside
When you have to see someone else be
Sane, and same, and normally enough.They sent you in a cardboard box.
Get daddy back. Styro-packed.
Then think.
What now?
Ashes slip into the wind,
This box is crap. You've spilled.
Think.
Your usual labour; cleaning up.
One last time I've set you back.
My heart begins to sink.
I dust you up into a tin,
The dog nips at your bubblewrap.
You'd laugh at that, I think. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2261152613/posts/10160685422227614/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/morgen-batten-formerly-luke
