Art by Pat Byrne: https://jamartprints.com/product-tag/pat-byrne/
Invisibility
Invisibility is not a superpower
The silence that follows shushed stutters
Eyes diverting your own, cut deep
Deeper than the thorn pricks piercing you from behind
Coarser than the sharp-tongued taunts
Invisibility is not a superpower
Moments merged and blurred to non existence
I can’t help but hold tight to the times
I’m recognised, like the sun in Ireland it’s rare
My eyes flood over like the banks of the Lee
I notice the sly stems of the so-called roses
The red bleeds “Outsider” on my forehead
Invisibility is not a superpower
Butterfly
I swore I would not become a blue butterfly
As a crack appeared on my cocoon
I had seen before, my mother cry
As my sisters soared with their blue wings
I would never be the same
Was what I promised myself
Until the night I skipped the family game
And felt myself slip away
Tomorrow
Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find a grave man,
Yet no plague will follow.
As Mother Earth halts her spin for no more mortal.
My dust shall float on a warm breeze
That blows for everyone While I float
Unfettered into nothingness my song will go unsung,
My skin untouched, my laugh will fade,
I will never be happier.
A Revelation
“You are not your thoughts”
What am i if not my thoughts,
My grudges, my grievances, my guilt,
Are these rendered meaningless? useless?
If i am not my thoughts then answer this,
Am i my actions? my words?
What differentiates the things i do and say
The things i would do or say given the chance?
Am i a selfless action towards a stranger,
A compliment to a friend feeling down?
Or am i a ruthlessly jealous thought,
Directed towards someone i view as superior to me.
An endless feeling of inferiority, caused solely
By my thoughts.perhaps, then, i am not my thoughts.
My thoughts and i are things that can coexist,
But are not the same,i am not the intrusive thoughts
That hate not just others, but myself.
I am not my thoughts, and it’s the greatest comfort
Leaves
The leaves fall
Trees ever so tall
Leaves begin to change
Colours darken with range
September had a feeling
it was ever so healing
Life starts now
September please allow,
The world to feel your beauty
I wish make a change to find all my duty
Soft Wind
Across the landscape blanketed in white
The covered terrain reflects the light
Trees moving as the soft wind blows
Flowers persistently grow in the snow
Words
Regret,denial, shame
He made me feel this way
Four words that left his mouth
That came back to me
He knew the damage that was caused
But still spoke
“Im not like that”
He hushed in my ear
Gentle Soft, Sweet
How he made me feel
Before those words left his mouth
They play over and over
Again in my mind
Will the cycle ever end
People
People tell us who we are as soon
As we’re old enough to understand.
They tell us who not to be even younger.
Don’t be gay, don’t share your opinions,
Be straight, listen to your elders.
People tell us to hide who we are
As they hide behind their love.
At sixteen they want us to know
What we want to do when we are adults,
But most of us don’t
even know who we are yet.
The years of telling us how to be,
How not to be has caused it all to pile out
Now?,Yes Now, know who you are
What you want to do.
But remember not everybody needs to hear
The opinions of a young queer women,
Not in a world dominated by ‘smart’ straight men.
Every
Every look you give
Every thing you say
Will come back to you some day
Every person you meet
Every friend you encounter
Will affect you in the future
Everything you don’t do
Everything you do wrong
Seems to fight you all day long
Every one of your imperfections
Every thing wrong about you
Will eventually come back to haunt you
Find a Way
I am like a tree
There is nothing
No one around them
Who doesn’t know
Where to belong
Doesn’t know who am I
There are too many
Rhymes to match
But i just want
To find my way
Dreams
As a child dreams were my escape.
I would escape to worlds with dragons and superhero’s.
Making stories in my head 24/7.now as a teenager
I’m constantly in my head replacing real friends
Imaginary friends would always be there for me and
know what I’m feeling without saying it.
I feel safe and at home in my head.
Sharks
My favourite shark species
are epaulette sharks
they’re small and slender
with big dark spots
like military epaulettes
they’re found in tropical shallow waters
and call coral reefs and tidal pools their homes
they have the amazing ability
to turn off parts of their brain
in oxygen scarce tidal pools
they can survive completely without oxygen
for up to two hours without feeling the effects
they have evolved
To use their two side pectoral fins
To wriggle and slide across the sea floor
Resembling walking
They’re my favourite sharks
Because of their cool rare abilitys
And their cute appearance
i would love to meet an epaulette shark
And give it a small hug
Nature
Oh water, blue water
In the sea? In the river
It shines like silver
Oh, flower, pink flower
With your beautiful colours
I forget my horrors
Oh, leaves, green leaves,
That fall subtly the trees,
I want your beauty for me
Sky
The infinite sky
Makes me wonder why
Things are so small
But really there not at all
The infinite weight of life
Cuts deep like a knife
The weight can make you stronger
And your legacy will last longer
Friends
A warmth arises when
Their faces come into view ,
Life feels whole with them
Our conversations feel honest and true
I want to see them often
No deep love compares
My friends are what make me feel alive ,
From the very moment they arrive
Silence
It goes silent
More than people think
Years gone in a blink
People try to help
But only do more damage
Once again it goes silent
Something so giant
Home
Im in a diferent contry without suport
Without my friends, my boyfriend
So much pain and thoughts in my head
Im overthinking so much things happening
My friends don’t understand me anymore
Friends? i dont think so
I feel so farthe time so diferent
Maybe this is good for me
Everyone say that, but i don’t see
Im not happy but actually,
Here is fine maybe im the problem
I need to learn english
Learn a new culture a new life
Maybe all of that, will make me a better person
But i still miss home
But the new can be good sometimes
I just dont see it yet.
If I Could
If I could fly I would fly high up in the sky,
See the beautiful sunsets and sunrise
If I could I’d sing a song to the birds every night
If I could be an animal I would be a lion
To scare away my pray and be the king of the jungle
If I could I would.
Happy Home
It simply makes me happy.
The vibrant sunset on mild summer evening.
The sky so orange in its boldest blaze
It seems like a big giant sun.
It’s the vibrant smiles so infectious,
That it slowly flourishes around the room.
It’s the soul spark that emerges
From our connection bringing beams of lights
It’s the presence of my people and their positive vibes
Joy that comes in many flavours.
It’s the uplifting stories and knowledge of my ancestors.
How I loved the warmth of the wate
The freedom it gave so soft but yet strong
Feel of the sand, The soft golden dunes.
4,278 miles away, but it will always be my home
All The Things
It’s bitter sweet to think about
The damage that we do because i was going down
But i was doing it all with you
Everthing we broken all the trouble that we made
But i say that i hate you with a smile on my face
All the things i did just so i could call you mine
The things you did well i hope i was your favourite crime
Life
Life is like a movie
You’re your own main character
You choose how you write the script
Although there is no re-wind or pause,
Life keeps going, it plays onwards
Genres can represent emotions in life,
Comedy, horror, romance, sad
Laughter, fear, love, sadness
It all has apart to play in our life
Who Are They
Who do people think they are to say that it’s beautiful and that it’s not?
Who do people think they are to mess with others for their likes?
Who people think they are to mess with the appearance of others?
Sometimes little children are the cruelest and their comments can mark you forever.
Tied Together
I know it’s pathetic but it makes me feel psychedelic.
We used to be cherries but now were the seeds.
We’ve changed so much that now we don’t fit
But I kinda hoped we’d stay close, maybe more than a bit.
We were so strung together by the hip that now
To eachother, a word doesn’t leave our lip.
We grew tied together and I thought it would last forever,
But I was proven very wrong. I’ve missed you for so so long.
Getting Older
Growing older made me realise,
How the world is full of despise.
No more toys, games, dress up thrills
Instead exams, drama, future and bills.
The older I get the more I realise
How much the world needs to harmonise.
Seven billion voices, seven billion dreams
We need to stick together, create a team.
Us as humans we have to realise
We’re all similar to the universes eyes.
Nobody should stop us, nobody should care
Yet here we are crying in despair.
Somebody needs to hear us, our inner child,
The old versions of with genuine smiles.
Growing older made me realise,
No matter how hard it gets
We should always feel alive.
What am I
My hair? The relaxer that burned my scalp.
You too can be beautiful
My skin? Too dark too rough.
Maybe one day you can be desirable
My parents? The sacrifices they made
To come to this country and work hard
My heritage? The persecution of the Igbo
From the start of time. Am I even worthy of that title
The pressure of an eldest daughter in an overwhelming world
But I am me that’s what matters after all
Wake Up
Wake up head up,
Thought that keep my mind up,
Stand up, chin up and
Don’t forget them eyes up,
Speak up, cheer up,
But it’s so hard to keep up,
Until our tears hurt,
When our times up
Boredom
Spent years waiting for these years to come
Now that I’m here I want to run
The sound of the bell ending
My boredom so it can start all over again
From when I wake up in the morning and
I can’t see or think to the nights
I go to sleep and my head starts to ring
When I close my eyes to go to sleep
I dream of what I was told my life would be
Decisions
The decisions that await me
What my purpose?
The need to do something
Why does it haunt me?
The life that looks ahead
What do I do?
I said, what do I do?
Chocolate:
Chocolate is such a delicate sweet.
It fills my mouth with a delicious taste.
Whenenever I see it.My eyes shine bright!
It’s like a gift,I receive from the world.
It fills my heart,like the love of my life.
Chocolate is such a delicate sweet
Camogie
Camogie is my life
Camogie is my wife
I dream of camogie at night
I play camogie in the daylight
I love camogie
Camogie is my life
Bugs
I come from
A bug on a book
Wandering cluelessly
Not able to look