Never
Never got to say goodbye,
Never got One. Last. Hug.
I have a list of things to say to you, but honestly, I’d end up writing a book.
I still feel empty, a part of me is always missing.
The images of dads washed out face, pale and left empty
Inside is one thing I can never unsee.
My stomach still turns and the hole in my chest is constantly getting tighter
When someone mentions your name.
My train of thoughts stop every time its reaches my mind.
My heart still beats for you Boom, Boom, Boom,
I lost, I lost someone I can never replace,
Goodbye Dad.
I’ll see you some day.
There is an Echo
There is an echo, of life, of love, of family.
Even after so long, I can still feel that echo fade-
And be replaced by endless darkness.
The sunlight’s gone, replaced by shade.
The echoing sounds of shouting, insults, swearing
A tiny child’s unanswered cries.
Screams, hard impacts and pleas for mercy
The never-ending question: Why?
That sense of dread still clings to everything,
The hate they felt they couldn’t fight.
They strained to reach the ceiling, fumbled with the rope.
An echo of relief, as the noose goes tight
There is an echo of life, of love, of family…
Puppeteer
We no longer talk to our imaginary friends
Instead, we stare at the mirror
And talk down to ourselves
We are not the generation remembered for our
Privilege, opportunity and society
Instead, we are referred to as the lost generation
Entertainment romanticises us
Your favourite film depicting protagonist hopelessness
With supporting characters desperation and silence
The story unfolds as the lost generation watch
As our lives are pulled by strings like a puppet
Plucked by a host of puppeteers
We spot each of our parents
Some grasping desperately with both hands to keep the strings intact
While others carelessly tangle the strings using one hand
With a bottle of gin in the other
Life
In this life, we are told to live to the fullest
To me this life is not something to go about so causally
Everyday is your first and last chance to embrace every part of it.
But in this life it is hard for us to live and be happy.
People will hate the very qualities they love about you and leave
You unsure about yourself.
You will question the values of “I love yous” and everything about yourself.
We are treated like kids but expected to act like adults.
To my conclusion I have came to everybody’s happiness is different.
There is no definition of happy.
We all live in the same planet but in different worlds.
To me what scarier than death is dying having lived to
The fullest.
So just try your best and live don’t with no regrets.
Caught in Herself
Void and painful is the guilt that speaks,
Standing in the hallway as her story leaks,
Out of a mouth that isn’t hers,
But rather a mask she’d spun over the years.
A mask she can’t shake off no matter how hard she tries,
At this point she can’t even tell if they’re lies.
A tear drops into her eye at the thought
Of being small,
And knowing no better than to speak from her heart.
She wonders if she can change this curse.
Building herself up against the stories she’s told and the lies she’s sold.
She stands up strong,
But without her consent, they creep up into her,
Into her brain
And spill out of her mouth.
The mask has slid onto her face once again.
As I Sit
As I sit with shivers spinning down my spine waiting for you
I feel my heart beat faster and faster as every second passes
The room feels deeper as every breath I take
I spot you from a distance, I fix my long blonde hair ready to finally meet you
As you approach me, your eyes seem full of love
You shake my hand with a kiss on the cheek, I feel safe like I’ve never felt before
Little did I know I would be repeating these memories the day of your funeral
My generation Is
Captured on camera and posted for others to envy
Thin figures in fear of non-perfection
Drinking till done in hopes of a good time
Progressive freedom for people to feel themselves
A cop on to healthy eating
Money for athletes who work harder than most
Flawed education for anyone breathing
Fashion style inspired and taken from all generations
The Darkness
The darkness wants one thing.
One ask, one desire.
The darkness is deep,
From the darkness of your bedroom at night,
To the darkest corner of the sea.
But what does darkness want?
What does it desire?
It’s peace.
Peace at mind, peace in life.
Peace.
My Generation
Surrounded by an unrealistic goal of perfection
A group of zombies addicted to their phones
Constantly overwhelmed by the world around us
Never in the moment, always elsewhere
Always selfish and conceited
Boring and plastic
My generation is doomed
These Walls
Remember the whispers and secrets
The tears and the laughs
The yawns of students bored out of their minds
The pointless lessons everyone were forced to learn
The buzz about discos but more importantly the dreadful stench of tan
The banter with students and teachers
All the lectures to students when a class misbehaved
They hold many memories, some good, some bad
But those memories will stay in these walls forever
And will never be forgotten
Rising
Rising sea levels
Rising temperatures
Falling trees
Surrounding tress,
Our climate is changing
Animals are dying,
Children are crying
And asking us to change
Before its too late,
Before our planet is gone
Use electric, not gas
Plant trees, don’t cut them down
This weather won’t pass
Until we start to make a change
And make our planet strong again
Where
This is where I want to be,
A place right beside the sea,
My home and my town filled with memories,
This is where I want to be.
Salthill is like Heaven on Earth,
A place where you’d want to rebirth!
Blackrock is the place to be,
During the Summer in the sea,
The days spent down there,
Will be in my head forever
Growing Up
Growing up in a society where anxiety,
Stress and depression is the most common cold with no medication to cure it.
Dragging each other down behind our screens and usernames.
Growing up knowing we will be accepted and not have to be ashamed of who we are.
Trying to save the planet so we can have a future.
Being told to act your age when you’re treated like a child.
The Black Cloud
The black cloud wants to suck me in,
Drag me past the point of no return,
For me to disappear behind the cloudy veil of loneliness.
The black cloud wants the shell of my being to be the only piece of me
That remains to face their utopian lies.
The black cloud wants to follow me around,
To smother any flame of passion with a sizzling pinch.
The black cloud wants for me to suffocate in the emptiness,
To drown in the whispers, to shrink under the magnifying glass of judging eyes.
The black cloud wants for my vision to be tinted,
To see life in only shades of grey and black,
To recognise just shadows and cower among the them.
The black cloud wants to cut me off,
To drain me completely,
Surround me with a weighted blanket that will shock anyone who comes too close.
The black cloud wants to conquer me.
I won’t let it.
It All Happened Here
The blood squirted out of his veins until it was a steady pour,
His skin pale and soft turned a rough purple-brown,
His stomach with lungs, liver and life slowly starts shutting down,
His body standing, straight and still shatters to the ground,
His happiness slowly leaving his mind along with his memories,
His eyes blue like a summer’s sky gently close into the darkness.
It all happened here, when all he wanted was to protect his sister.
The Unbroken Innocence
It wants our unbroken innocence
Sweets turn into drugs,
Juice to vodka.
Slumber parties to one night stands
And crushes to broken hearts.
Having imaginary fears becomes your reality
When Dad’s shoulders were the highest place you could get.
Race issues were about who could run the fastest
Goodbyes only meant until tomorrow
And we couldn’t wait to grow up
Surrender
What the darkness wants is my surrender.
It’s sucking my pain
And trapping me in it.
What the darkness wants is another slave.
A loyal servant under its spell,
Captured by its charm.
What the darkness wants is the ultimate extermination.
I feed its power,
I let it take over.
I don’t want it to touch me,
But I let it.
Cause I have nothing against it.
I am nothing without it.
We
We are different, full of expectations
We care about others
More than ourselves
We care about what everyone thinks
We are pushed to work hard
And afraid to let others down
We are adventurous
And determined to make memories
We accept everyone for who they are
Untitled
They walked up to their new front door
And threw their suitcases on the floor
They went and walked around the place
With a look of horror on their face
They felt a presence so cold and dark
No welcome mat, no homey spark
The house was cheap they didn’t know why
The blood stains on the carpet opened their eye
They thought they house was haunted maybe
By a ghost or a horrible memory
For the walls had wounds deep and tender
And something happened these walls would remember
Looking Out
Looking out from Galway Bay, the hills of Clare don’t seem too far away.
Only a short trip away, yet the lovely green fields seem a complete different place.
The rolling hills, so quiet and calm.
A bit different from the town’s busy traffic jam.
As people walk past taking everything in their stride,
I can’t help but wish that I was on the other side.
Over in the Burren, where you can walk for miles, see plants and rocks and the lovely skies
I sit back and wonder, what life would be like, if I was to live, on the far side.
Then I look up to the bright blue skies, and it makes me think and open my eyes.
The sky is there no matter where you are, all you have to do is look up and realise.
I think back to my home, surrounded by fields, and can picture all the wonderful trees.
Faraway hills are green they say, well so are the ones around us everyday.
Sometimes you get so used to a place, it gets harder to see its most beautiful traits.
Make the most of the all the things around,
Because everywhere is more than just a walking ground.
The Ocean Desires
To pure its blood from our rubbish,
To lower its level to the norm,
To stop the climate change storm.
It’s up to us to pursue the dream,
Let’s help the Earth go from grey to green.
Fish are dying, people are crying,
Tell the truth, there’s no point in lying.
In these Walls
In these walls, the basis of you forms
In these walls, you learn about who you are going to become,
Where your likes become your life
Where your teachers shout at you to change and become a better person.
What your peers say will stay with you and change you forever
The Ocean
Dreams of silver hair that floats between the reeds,
Of boats that creak and moan and wail, an instrument to the song of the sea,
Dreams of creatures that lurk in the deepest depths,
The sun too far away to show the shadows that creep across the sand,
Dreams of the dark green seaweed that tangles and clings to their victims legs,
Determined to never let go.
Darkness
What the darkness wants is what the light will not give,
The darkness wants every last smile wiped off every face – something the light will not allow,
The darkness will fight to the last minute of each day until the light gives in to in its power
And disappears into the midst the silent night,
This is what it wants, it wants fear, it wants sadness, it wants peace.
Although the darkness wants evil, it is not evil in everyone’s eyes,
Darkness brings peace and quiet, stillness and solidarity, recovery and rest.
Earth
The ocean dies, as our mess grows deeper,
The ocean dies, as we get more careless,
The ocean dies as it can’t breathe,
Nothing will help us now.
The icebergs are collapsing and the water levels rise,
The icebergs are collapsing and lots of humans die,
The water rushes in wipes everything in its path,
The icebergs are collapsing, nothing will help us now.
The world is on fire, the forests are dying,
The world is on fire, the koalas are crying,
The world is on fire, its not going away,
The world is on fire, nothing will help us now.
Earth is falling apart, countries are fighting,
Earth is falling apart the people are scared,
Earth is falling apart, the temperatures are rising,
Nothing will help us now.
The Ocean
The oceans chimera is to claim no more lives
It is sick of being responsible for people’s deaths
It doesn’t like filling our lungs with unwanted water
In fact, it wants to keep all its water to itself
It doesn’t like flooding the streets on the coast but it can’t help itself
As with all this plastic going in it can’t help but throw a tantrum
The oceans greatest desire is to filter all this plastic,
To save the turtles, to keep its exotic areas more beautiful than ever.
Memories
Some of my best memories are made here,
I feel nervous here but excitement takes over.
It’s so far away but I feel at home
When in the water I’m in game mode nothing else matters
Because a loss here feels like a bullet to the chest
Our team becomes closer we all want the same thing
We want the title and we want to win.
I reunite with old friends, there’s lots of screaming and hugs
We get on so well it doesn’t feel like it’s been 8 months.
They live so far away saying goodbye is hard I’d rather stay.
Unfortunately, I’m here only 3 days a year but the memories I’ve made I hold very near.
What the Ocean Dreams Of
Scuba divers swimming with slimy seaweed
Slithering around their sopping suits
Vibrant fish, floating, freely with finns
Following their fantastic fish friends
Turtles living life with no fear
As there is not a bit of plastic anywhere near
Dolphins diving in the deep dark sea
Making noises and twirling around
As happy as can be
Untitled
I walked into the room.
All eyes on me.
Everything got quiet.
I could hear my heart beating.
They asked me if I was ready,
And I just about managed to reply.
I started singing, and everything changed.
My nerves were gone,
My knees stopped shaking,
And I was no longer breathing heavy.
The part was mine.
Silent Screams
Can anyone hear my silent screams
With my face full with streams
I cannot keep all this in
I will not sleep anymore
My nightmares are worse than before
He scares me more than anything
The demons won’t let me think
They’re steaming with anger
I wish I could find the answer
My mind better help me
Sleepless Nights
All my sleepless nights
With my constant fights
My thoughts are taunting
With shots on my mind
Trying to find my peace of mind
My thoughts are not so kind
She’ll put up a fight
During the night
All those sleepless nights
Through My Dogs Eyes
I’m the little dog you bought one day,
Took me to Galway around late May
Gave me a name and a little chew toy,
I’m never tired of you saying ‘Good little boy!’
I play on the grass and I dig holes in the mud
At first, to me it was a big neighbourhood
We go on walks and I sniff other dogs
Taking in the surroundings of all the big bogs
At dinnertime I’m put outside with my treat,
But you always sneak outside to give me some meat
Strolling on the beach and you let me off my leash
Dipping my paws in the cold seawater
But I never go in too deep
After a long day by myself and you finally come home,
I get excited cause’ I’m no longer alone
As I see that silver car pull up in the driveway
‘Hey Charlie!’ is always what you say
Summer
Summer is,
Vibrant sunsets on a warm summers eve
Waiting for a full moon to light up my path,
Making the night feel magical
Summer is,
Jumping off Blackrock and swimming with friends
Then eating 99s until we all have brain freezes!
Staying up late watching dozens of movies
Laughing until our jaws get sore
Eating popcorn and chilling on the couch
Getting excited for the next day to arrive
Summer is,
Barbeques outside with family, the sun warming our bodies
Summer is for holidays when i sit by the pool
And forget about all my worries
Summer is,
Getting a break from school
With no studying nor school work
Just having fun
And the pure brilliance of doing nothing
This is why summer is the best season of all four
Jane Heffernan
The Disco
I sit in school waiting for the bell to ring,
Waiting to see what the disco will bring.
The preparations have started the previous night,
The disco is soon which brings us delight.
After school we start to prepare,
Makeup, outfits and hair.
A couple of naggins in the bush,
And off we go in a big rush.
The disco is dark and I cannot see,
I accidentally get with three!
The smell of tan and aftershave make me sick,
Please get me out of here quick!
Everyone is dancing on the dance floor,
My friends and I go off to explore.
The night is always long and eventful and those are facts,
We always end up getting some Supermacs!
Empty
Empty isn’t just a word
It’s a feeling that consumes.
It takes over,
Smashes confidence to bits
Empty isn’t just a word
It spaces you out
And pulls you away
And sends self-esteem to the darkest part of the pit
It Wants
It wants to crawl into your skin and trap your soul,
To wrap its fingers around your thoughts and squeeze out your dirty secrets,
To possess your mind and break you,
To make you cry tears of blood,
To expose you at your happiest moments,
To unleash your inner evil and darkness,
To watch you suffer, spiralling into emptiness,
It wants for your happiness to slowly slip away
From you leaving you isolated in darkness.
My Generation Is
Is not unique or different,
It’s obsessed with phones and internet,
Lives their lives through a screen,
Is lazy selfish and vain!
A Vision
Judgemental and cruel,
Stuck in a prison called school.
Bursting with creativity,
But dismissed just as quickly.
Unsure of what to do,
Without any help from you.
Doing the best with what they were given,
Just wanting to have a vision.
Welcome
Welcome to the place where hopes and dreams are kindled,
Welcome to the place where hopes and dreams are left to die,
Welcome to the place where happy times were shared,
And bad times were battled through,
Where tears were cried
And laughter filled the rooms,
Welcome to the place where we were under so much stress,
Welcome to the place where we decided we didn’t care anymore,
Welcome to the place where our friendships were formed,
And some of them crashed and burned.
Aoife Conneely
If
If I were a dog, just for a day
Id fetch a stick and run away
If I were a dog I’d be faithful and true
If I were a dog, I would always chew
If I were a dog, I’d run and play
And in my path I’d leave a trail
If I were a dog, I’d wag my tail
If I were a dog, I would leap away
If I were a dog id be man’s best friend
If I were a dog, my love would never end
Music
Funny how a note, a tune, a rhyme or a lyric,
Can be an escape from reality, from the real world.
Turn your tears to a smile,
Turn your sadness to joy.
Funny how pressing a key, strumming strings or banging a drum,
Can take your mind off anything from stress to despair.
Get you thinking of something else,
Get you out of a dark place.
Music is the one thing that can cheer anyone up,
Put anyone in a good mood.
Make someone feel understood,
Make someone feel happy again.
Andrea Shaughnessy
Remember
Freshly pasted wallpaper,
Shiny mirrors and new beginnings
They remember butterflies soon covered by boy bands,
And Dads fingertips tracing the colourful creatures
Blu-tac that stained the white paint that became less white
And Mom’s face when she traced the places
Dad used to touch
Smashed mirror and angry tears
Through shards of broken glass
The disease that stole my dad away
Each bump and dent,
Even barren now
These walls remember an old life
Doubt’s Desire
What doubt desires is dangerous,
It wants what you could easily give
But you shouldn’t give,
Because if you do,
You have left it into you.
Doubt desires the truth to creep out of you,
To feed into itself and leave you lying there,
Empty inside.
If you step out into the darkness,
And let it sink into you,
Your doubts desire has been achieved.
The Ocean
What the ocean dreams is to speak to the land
All calm and tranquil he washes up on the sand
We ignore the repetition of the quiet waves
And so he grows angry and begins to misbehave
He brews and swirls growing strong bulls horns
Only seeing red now, all of a sudden a storm.
We take for granted what the ocean gives us for free
A place of relaxing, quiet and to act freely
The ocean is longing for a less lonely life
A companion, a friend or maybe even a wife!
You Want
You want me to grow up,
Act my age,
But then you get mad
When I want freedom from my cage.
Let me grow up at my own pace
But I still need your guidance,
I understand it’s not a race.
I learn how to do well in a test
By study and perseverance
But I learn about life by making mistakes
And learning through experience.
What’s more important?
I Said
I said “I don’t know”,
But I do.
I always know.
Except it’s a secret
As you may respond
“That’s wrong”.
And then I’ll cry
And question
Why you even asked
At all.
These Walls
Remember our fights,
Our girl code,
Our fantasy plans,
Our boredom
Our laughs
Our breakdowns.
From one boy to another
From one hoe to another innocent
Opinion against opinion
And memory after memory,
We build a bond,
A shoulder to cry on,
And a family.
Sky
s – solar system above
k – kites flying high in the sky
y – yellow sun beams