Art by Claudine O’Sullivan https://jamartprints.com/artist/claudine-osullivan/
Sing Aloud
The eye of my mind, a world called creative
Layers of colour and shapes but yet evasive
A lion in a cage, a mouth zipped shut
A voice that is silenced, colours bleeding from a cut.
Escapism into the corners of my thoughts
The cage over my head that society has taught
To embrace your soul and shatter the mirrors of life
Is to love your minds colours and take them in your stride.
This world is only temporary, a song from start to end, so sing the lyrics loud
And for your own vulnerable garden you should tend.
The Secret of Soccer
Soccer is a sport that brings people together
With every kick and pass, we feel lighter than a feather
It’s a game of strategy, skill,
And pure delight where every move counts,
And every goal is a sight
The field is our canvas, the ball our paintbrush
We dance with our feet, we move with a rush
The crowd roars with every shot and every save
And at the end the game, we’re all left amazed
Soccer is more than just a sport, it’s a passion
It’s a way of life, a never ending fashion
So let’s lace up our boots and hit the field
And let the magic of soccer be revealed.
Good Enough.
You can’t tell me
That I’m not good enough.
I’m not as pretty as she is
He’s never going to think I’m beautiful
That doesn’t mean I’m not good enough.
I’m practically failing maths
I’ll end up being a street urchin.
Probably.
Because everyone tells me I’m not good enough.
Can you all shut up
All the voices in my head
That tell me I’m not good enough.
Someday we will realise
That it’s more than appearances
Or brains
That make us all good enough.
Because we’re all good enough.
House
erratic acapellas bouncing around hitting
wall off wall
sound off sound
until the strobes hit you
like a sweat wave
sent from heaven,
you now know you’ve hit
the house music scene
sent from heaven on earth.
I Live For GAA
It started from doing it because my family all do
But it has now blossomed into a love of my own
Gaa makes me want to be a better me
Makes me want to be the best I can
Makes me want to make my family and myself proud
Live up to the legacy of my father and his father before him
And once I’m on the pitch all my problems fade
All my doubt, all my worries they disappear
Once I’m on that pitch it’s me and the ball
I will go head first into a man 20 times my size
And making county, that will be my prize.
Deserve
What is success,
To live in the big house with the expensive things,
To run to work when the phone rings.
To have the family that’s perfect without stress,
To have the career that’s important and that will impress.
Giving blood sweat and tears,
Not speaking too loud,
Be cautious of who hears,
Do or don’t stand out in the crowd.
What is success to you,
You is the important word.
You decide your own path,
You deserve the world.
Untitled
A ball and a team was all it took,
The game it has me on a hook,
A pride for my sport and a love for my team,
Until the group ran out of steam.
All it took was one bad coach,
With teams to tear and dreams to poach,
With insulting comments and belittling words,
Girls left our team in separate herds.
They say words never scar like actions,
But then how has our team turned into factions?
It wasn’t meant to be this way,
So coaches be careful what you say.
Standards
I hate the standard for women
Why do girls get treated better when they fit the standard
That was made for them before they even had a choice
Why do girls with longer hair, longer eyelashes and perfect bodies get more of a say than Girls with college degrees who fit the standard less
Why should I be more accepted for my weird mannerisms
Than another girl just because I look better
If this is the standard for women then I wish to never fit it
I don’t want to be accepted in the world just because of what I look like.
Swan
Elegant, calm, gliding past
No fear,
No tears
At utter peace,
Down underneath,
Rapid feet,
Frantic, desperate,
Non-stop,
Can’t stop,
Or the reflection will break,
The noise of turmoil,
Silenced up above,
By pristine feathers dove.
Differences
I come from a town will loads of girls.
There are some boys but they are more interested in their hurls.
Women don’t care, they ruin another women’s reputation or even pull out their hair.
Some pass others and smile but deep inside them that’s not worthwhile.
It’s fake.
A lot of them are two-faced but some stick till the very end.
That’s called a friend.
Boys although love to play and fight,
Women tend to know what’s wrong and right
But still can’t trust them all.
dogs.
Jack Russells are small while Germans are big,
Go out to the yard and play with a twig.
They jump and the jump and they jump non-stop,
Her tail is wagging I know it won’t drop.
I love her so much she gave me a lick,
All because I throw her a stick.
Her coat it talk, but with words of grace.
We play and play but all at good pace.
I’ve never met someone so loyal.
My dog so special our love, is my fire.
Here for You
Everyone says that the thoughts in your head
will go away with fresh air and a full night’s sleep in bed.
Everyone says that those overthinking thoughts
and difficult talks are due to an unhealthy lifestyle and slow clocks.
But there’s always that one person
who will want to hear your thoughts and listen when u talk.
who won’t solve your problems but help u solve them without problem.
beginning to end
waking up every morning to the thought of someone’s name
to the touch of someone’s skin
to have someone to hold
i wake up every morning to fall back asleep
with the same person’s name in my mind
to the love we cherish
to the things we do
from the beginning of time
love from the beginning of time
we watch it
we see it
everywhere we go.
BUSY HAPPY BEES
Busy bees doing what bees do
What do bees do?
No one knows what bees do
Bees do what bees like to do
When bees do things bees like to do
They are happy
Happy bees?
Yes
Happy bees doing what happy bees do
Busy happy bees doing what busy happy bees do.
Pink
I love the colour pink
It makes me wink
I want everything to be pink
But my skin is orange and patchy
But at least it’s not scratchy
I wish I could wear pink every day
Not just one shade but a few
So I feel as good as new.
FLOWERS
Flowers
Different shapes
Different colours
Different sizes
Like people
But not people
Flowers
Lots of flowers.
Friends and Family
Tall friends, small friends, new and old friends
Kind friends, fun friends, mean and cold friends
Big families, small families, rough and clean families
Always there for you when in need families
Friends are easy to make and hard to keep
Family can be selfish and take and take
Friends can leave when life gets steep
Family is hard to make, but easy to keep.
Blame
‘Well what were you wearing?’
Why is this question relevant when a girl reports an abuse?
It doesn’t matter whether her skirt was tight or loose.
Why not place the blame on the person who couldn’t take the answer ‘no’?
Instead of focusing on whether her sleeves were high or low?
Sexual harassment came before miniskirts, check the dates.
Then think about who’s life you destroyed before you joke about this with your mates.
Girl
Being a girl is hard but being a girl is fun.
I love getting ready with my friends
But I hate walking alone when there’s no sun.
I always feel stressed but have to dress to impress.
I try my best but it’s really tough.
I’ll just sit and wait until I’m good enough.
WASPS
wasps are like bees
But they’re not bees
Happy busy bees?
NO
Feared wasps
Same colour
Same shape
Different personality
Chalk and cheese
Ketchup and mayo
Salt and pepper
The same
But different.
Being a Girl
Being a girl is a constant battle.
Being a girl means dressing comfortably and being told you’re too covered up and called a nun but wear something a little too revealing and you’re called a sl*t or a wh*re.
Being a girl means wearing makeup and being called a chav or getting told ‘you’d be so much prettier without all that’ but the once you take it off, you’re called sick or ugly or asked if you’ve slept enough.
Being a girl means being too smart and called a try-hard, a sweat, “you’ll never find anyone if you’re such a smart-arse” but the second you stop being audibly intelligent you’re ‘a dumb blonde’, ‘oh she’s a girl of course she’s not smart’.
Being a girl means not being able to be strong or defend yourself because it strips you of your femininity but if you cannot see that visibly you’ll hear choruses of “she’s so small she won’t fight back”, “look at her, she can’t stop you”.
Being a girl means having bear the responsibility of the actions of those around you; to cover up for the sake of others’ ‘focus’. “You can’t wear that it’ll distract the boys”, “That’s not fair, how are we supposed to control ourselves when you look like that?”.
Being a girl in today’s world means having to tell trusted friends your location every time you go out, wear shorts under a skirt, have keys between your knuckles, just in case you’re wearing something too revealing because everything is your fault.
Being a girl means being attacked or assaulted and instead of being asked if you’re ok, “well what were you wearing?”, “you must have said something”, “you shouldn’t have gone that way”.
Being a girl means being in a constant battle of what we want to do and what we know we have to.
Work, Work, Work
Working hard every day,
Is so slay…
Cutting up meat… getting no sleep.
Cow, sheep meat I do it all week…
A butcher’s day is man’s hour.
go back
sometimes i wish i could go back in life
not to change sh*t just to feel a couple things twice
i heard something that stuck with me a lot
about how we need protection from those protecting the block
nobody looking out for nobody
and nobody ever helps somebody
try to be somebody.
These Days
But these days I’m not home away
On a paper chase want to fly away
They say leave
We want toxic love
You ain’t leaving sending locations morning to evening.
double-edged
sports, sports teach you aren’t good enough
they tell you that “nothing you do is right”
they make you feel like you won’t make it even when you think you might
they stay resting in the back of your mind
making, you think you constantly need to rewind
sport can be a beautiful thing, but can also hurt you like a sting.
Here
Roses are red
Violets are blue
If you need someone
I’m here for you.