Candlelight
It’s surrounding me,
Closing in on the flame of my delicate candle,
One wrong move or misdirected breath and
Its lights out.
It claws at my skin, whispering in my ears,
Its hot breath tickling my neck.
I push it away or try to at least but it
Doesn’t work like I hoped,
In my panic, a cold hand slips in without me seeing
And closes around the flickering light cupped in my hands…
I’m thrown into darkness.
I fumble to light the candle again, searching to
Find my matches.
They’re lost again
And they are never going to be
Found.
Sionna Mekitarian
To Be
To be a female is to know I am still seen as the inferior gender.
To be a young black female is to know when I speak out I’m seen as aggressive.
To be a fatherless young black female is to know I’m seen as a walking stereotype.
To be a well-spoken young black female is to know my race sees me as “too white”
To be a young black female with natural hair and dark skin is to know
I do not fit the ideal standard of beauty.
But I’m not how I’m seen by people but how I see myself.
I am a black. I am fatherless. I am well spoken.
I have natural hair and dark skin.
I am a female and I love that.
I love me.
Anon
Unity Alone
What happens when my differences are not just mine?
When the fear and the doubt and the pain that made me different
Is something I share?
If it doesn’t just isolate one but all?
Because we feel the fear and the doubt and the pain
We feel the judgement, self-made or social
We all are recipients but still feel alone
Because I cannot say for certain how you feel
What I feel, what you feel, what we feel
I know it is true but I don’t have the evidence
Because we won’t say for fear of seclusion
So, what happens when my differences aren’t just mine?
Nothing, because we are silent.
Anon
Dyslexic
Being dyslexic has its up and downs,
People calling you lazy, dumb, not bothered,
They would usually use those words cause they didn’t know.
They didn’t know what it was like to struggle to read, to write,
Seeing some letters move around, mixing up numbers in an answer,
But it does have its joys, it has some ups,
Having better memory, finding a solution in a complicated riddle or question.
It can be hard trying to fit in with a system when it only goes one way,
But some of the smartest people who have changed the world are dyslexic,
I hope I can do that too.
Grainne Donnelly
Life
Life can be hard sometimes,
People come and go,
Friends, come and go,
People break, families break,
But if you can manage to stick together,
And make it through life, together,
Broken, but still managing to hold onto each other,
That’s all that matters.
Ciara Creaney
In the End
Not everything is as pretty as they say,
Many times, it seems that everything is going uphill.
Friends fail,
You lose important people,
And not so important,
You feel bad…
But in the end there is always something,
Or someone,
That saves you,
Saves you from all the pain,
Saves you from that bad day,
That bad week …
In the end,
Not everything is as ugly as you thought.
Elena Gonzalez
Precious
The world is a beautiful place
Full of life, family, friends and love
But to some the world is torture
No life, No family, No friends and no love
Because of this, people take their lives
Thinking they’re not good enough
Every life is precious, everyone matters.
Anon
Society
What comes to mind with that word,
A community, cultures, love?
Maybe togetherness and a helping hand when you need it?
That’s all lovely. Just not the truth.
Society is competition between friends,
Having the most likes on social media.
Society is the clothes you wear and the homes you come from,
The people you know and more importantly the people you don’t.
Society is stereotype after stereotype, judgement after judgement, and it’s a cycle.
I like to think we could break this cycle, I do,
I’m just not sure that’s the truth either.
Anon
I Wish
I wish I was more sensitive,
Or cared a little bit more.
I wish I thought of others,
And didn’t just shut the door.
I’ve always called it weakness,
When other people cry.
And I don’t like to show emotion,
Just let it pass on by,
I guess one thing I would like to change,
Is a thing that’s hard to say.
To those who I’ve mistreated,
Or maybe pushed away.
My family and friends who are close to me,
I’d like to say I’m sorry.
Taylor Flynn
Stereotypes
Boys don’t cry
Girls like pink
Asians are smart
Tattoos mean troublemakers.
How do we function in a world like this?
Stereotypes employ the way we live, the way we think, the way we act
Its a boundary, a certain line that should not and will not be crossed
No one can break out of the straight jacket that is Stereotypes.
Its a cuff, an anchor that weighs us and ties us down until we cannot breathe.
It never loosens its hold, and if we dare to break free,
We are met obstacles and walls that we never thought we’d meet.
But if, only if someone was to cross that line, to climb that wall, than it could be us all.
We could get the key to that cuff, rip it off and finally break free.
We could let go of that anchor and finally break the surface and breathe.
But we cant. And we won’t. Why?
Stereotypes are the building blocks of society. We take away one block. It crumbles.
I say we take away all blocks: Discrimination, Racism, and Homophobia.
And replace it with the cement that is HOPE.
Orlaith Hughes
Then a Bomb went Off
Michael was walking home from class, scared so he ran
Mícheál was walking along main street
Took off his bag and set it down, scared, so he ran
And then a bomb went off
It was all over the news in Tyrone
”How? Sure he was one of our own?”
Mícheál was born in Omagh, of Catholic faith
Indoctrinated, coaxed, he had no choice,
But to pledge allegiance to the IRA
Moved to Fermanagh, Enniskillen
Hoping to escape all the killing
Upon waking one morning
Given a rifle, told to ”Show them.”
Storming the streets of Lisnaskea
and it was there that he
put a bullet in a young man’s head
laying on the ground, there Michael bled
”Come out ye Black and Tans!” was the call from Mícheál’s lips
Out they came, and ended him.
”Thirty-two or death” was his final cry
It was for the thirty-two that he died
Michael’s father, by birth, a Sasanach
To Michael’s funeral he set off
Put the keys in the ignition
And Then A Bomb Went Off
Mícheál lay on Newbridge Road
Forgotten, for when learning of his terrorism
Mícheál’s parents didn’t dare claim him
Anon
Growing Up
Growing up can be hard sometimes,
Drugs, alcohol, school, mental health, tough times,
Everyone struggles with one of these things,
We try to block it out, put on this persona, act tough,
Sometimes we take it out on someone else,
Is it jealousy no one knows, only you truly know,
You want what they have,
Maybe it’s not your fault that you don’t have it,
But that doesn’t matter because you want it.
Anon
Travel
Travel with the goal of finding yourself and finding people who see themselves in you.
Try to understand yourself and find out what you really want to do.
Staying home may be smart, but you have to learn to let go.
Antonia Kalina
School
School, what do people think of when they think for school
They think ‘trapped’
You are told to sit still
Raise your hand if you wanna speak
They give you a short break to eat
And told eight hours a day what to think
We are judged by something on a sheet for paper
That does not define you are as a person
We are told you can’t be different.
To take out piercing and to cover tattoos
To have your hair a ‘normal colour’
But what is normal its society normal
Katie McGowan
Untitled
School is like a prison,
You feel trapped,
You’re bossed around and made to follow rules until certain times,
Everyone is pressured to meet an expectation
Yet not has the ability to meet it.
Uniform and rules about hair dye, piercings and appearance are strict,
We feel we can’t express ourselves and are made to all seem the same.
Everyone is constantly judging and giving opinions,
No one is the same or can be made to seem that way,
Every individual is going through their own problems,
Living with their pasts and backgrounds.
We are all struggling in some way,
Different from the people surrounding us,
We shouldn’t
We are made to be the same
When we’re all different and trying to express ourselves.
Anon
The Different
I am a girl that hate school, but loves sports
I find school hard but sport easy.
In sports, you can always get a second,
While in school you get a feeling that you need to know things that aren’t important.
School feels like a prison, you don’t get a say what you do or how you do it,
They tell you.
While sport is a team, you play as a team and you win as a team.
Team is family to me, you would help them in need or listen if they need someone to talk to.
Schools say they would talk to you if you need but they don’t really care,
But talking to a friend go along way for you and them.
Louise Dowling
Untitled
G uilt
R emembering
E soteric
A wful
T errified
N ervous
E legiac
S adness
S ecrets
These are behind every bit of greatness.
Danny Coffey
Social Media
The internet is such an amazing place!
Filled with slime videos, cute puppies, endless shopping websites,
Ways to connect to people around the world and more.
It has everything you could possibly need.
If you have a question, just ask google. If you need inspiration, look on Pinterest.
If you’re bored, go on Instagram.
All is well until you fall into the deep, dark pits of standards.
Constantly being showed what is expected of you is toxic.
Constantly being showed what is “beautiful” is toxic.
Constantly being showed what is “cool” is toxic.
Scrolling through sites seeing skinny, white women and muscular, white men is sickening.
Why can’t everyone be accepted for themselves?
Why can’t we just look in the mirror and think “I am beautiful”?
Why can’t social media stop discriminating?
Beauty to me is owning who you are.
Race doesn’t matter, religion doesn’t matter,
Sexuality doesn’t matter, gender doesn’t matter, body type doesn’t matter.
The things that make us “beautiful” do not define us.
You are beautiful.
Never change who you are to fit in with the media,
Be yourself and someone will love that.
Anon
Some People
Some people are starving and some people too full,
Some people are homeless and some people are alone,
Some people are suffering and some people are too rich,
Some people are trapped in war torn countries and some people happy ignoring,
Some people old and some people just born,
Some people holy and some people broken ,
We are human and we are vulnerable,
We are all on this earth together,
Anon
In a Society
We live in a society where numbers on a paper
Define intellectual power
We live in a society where we humiliate beliefs
As it doesn’t suit our frame of thinking
We live in a society where a pro black movement
Is perceived as an anti-white protest
Where a gay pride parade is thought
As a competition of sexualities
We live in a society where the smart students
Are boring and “dry”
We live in a society where “likes” on a post
Is a validation of popularity?
We live in a society where the girl with the most gossip
Is best liked.
We live in a society.
Aoibhin Sinnott
Everyone
Everyone needs a good friend who is always there and supports you
Who knows you nearly better than you know yourself
Who appreciates you and understands you
Who makes you laugh when you want to cry
The person you know you can trust
The one person you can call at anytime
But that good friend is hard to find
Everyone needs a good friend
Everyone should try being that good friend for someone
Maria Quinn
Teenagers
Teenagers can be a weird but wonderful
Girls and boys are both challenged during their teenage years
Both to fit in and stand out
To fit in your trying too hard which means you’re not being yourself
To stand out your usually afraid of getting judge by your peers
Teenagers can be powerful when they work together
They become close to unstoppable
I feel we need to get over this image of being similar to each other
And make up your own views on life
Love yourself for who you are
Hannah Singh
Kickboxing Tatami
A hard place to be,
Seven by Seven area,
Fighting for Points,
Fighting for Glory,
Fighting for Pride,
Fighting for your Club,
Fighting to see if you will get out unscathed.
Adam Cleary
Heartache
People who criticize about people’s gender and culture are fake
Being from another country or having a different religion
Could make your heart ache
Hating different religion or race should be a crime
Does something in your head chine
When someone is different from you
It’s like saying Irish people hate stew
The colour of your skin doesn’t matter
As long as your personality is better
Who cares no one should
As long as you feel good in your skin
You’re welcome to be free from the criticism
Anon
Society
What has society come to today
The world is turning grey
We’re told what to be
And what to do but no one really asks
Who really are you
We’re always being judged and no one cares
But what does it matter who cares
But hopefully these people can change
But if they don’t
You make the difference and go and change.
Dylan Morris
Us
Everyone tells us to do this,
To do that but
Don’t ask what we want,
What we want to do
Its not their lives,
Its not there problem it’s up to us
And only us
You do you and don’t let people tell what to do.
Anon
Football
Football is good and lots of fun,
Keeps ya fit and gives you fun,
Meeting your friends,
That gives you a smile,
Working for each other, putting your body on the line,
Hoping to get that big day out,
Winning and drinking is so much fun,
If you bring that cup back home.
Cian Lynch
People
People tell us what to be
People tell us what to do
People tell us what we should want
People tell us what we should wear
People tell us what to like or not
People tell us that people are cruel
But people are not cruel its only you
Tadhg Horkan
Life
Life is one of our greatest mysteries
Some people think that it is finding happiness or a purpose
Others think it’s getting the most out of life or exploiting it to the fullest that they can
People have many definitions for life
And they all have different motives behind what their definition is for it
Life is even sometimes so unimportant to us
That we use it in day to day speech with ease
As if it was nothing more than a simple word
Yet it nearly controls our every single move and decision that we make
We are all so dependent on creating a meaning for life
So they can have something to live by
Because if we don’t have a reason to do something, we wont do it
If we don’t have a reason to live then life has no meaning for us
My definition for life is still a mystery to myself
And I am still trying to find what to live for
So for the time being I will see where life will lead me
That is my definition of life so far
What is yours?
Aiva Blowick
Untitled
The lies I held during each meet-ups.
How uncertain I felt as I thought was doing the right thing.
As I lied to fit in due to the idea that they will leave if the truth was discovered
Dreading each day wondering the way I will be viewed
Jumping to each view to match the story that was meant and wanted to be heard.
Watching in the background, silently, seeing how the chaos unfold,
With friendships made and some lost,
The chaos comes to a end.
Anon
Untitled
Too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short, too dark, too light, which one can she be?
Everything she tries to be never ever seemed so possible
The days she smiles but the night she cries
So sad so hurt day in day out
Hoping and wishing for peaceful life
She thinks to herself why can’t this be another fairy tale with another happy ending
With a loving prince and a beautiful castle
But her “prince charming” turned out to be a villain
Broke promises and vows to love and protect her
But when she sees her little heart beat running her daughter
That’s the peace the hope and the fairytale she was looking for.
Ruth Marty
Broken
They had been broken
When I was new, I was their cure
My duty was to fix them
Now I think I have failed them, they cannot be fixed
I now know I was not born to replace him
I am different and I will save them in my own way
Anon
Trapped in a Forest
I am trapped in a forest with no light thinking to myself, what could I be?
Finding how hard it is to breath, a feeling I have never felt before.
My body struggling to take a breath of air,
While I’m walking down a path of darkness and loneliness.
I’m cold and shivering the warmth of my body has left leaving me with nothing
Only the hope of getting to light and day.
I keep walking down a path of emptiness,
Hoping I can be free of this loneliness.
I keep walking and walking till I get near the end
I feel a warmth air of wind brushing past me
Nearing me to light shining bright
Blinding me but I’m hopeful to get to the end of the path.
I reach the end of the path with warmth air
And a hopeful feeling that I can finally go home
Making a life itself a happy ending.
Vanessa Ralph
Lost
He felt lost,
At a stalemate,
An impasse,
A lost cause.
He was alone,
Didn’t go home.
Turned off his phone,
Went somewhere unknown.
He was on the end,
Caught by a friend.
He was found,
Back on the ground.
A boy didn’t die today.
James Ryder
My Name
My name is Freya
I am a play a
But everyone just tells me
To go away a
Its a big betray a
When Andrea
Try’s to portray a
Me as a koala.
Freya Cusack
Darkness into Light
I once was a young boy who never saw a day of light.
The emotions I was feeling I was trapped in,
A room with no light, no light to guide me trough,
My sorrows a shadow came over me all alone,
In the dark, I stood all lonely and cold.
The next thing I see is a light shining through the
Small gap in the window that’s when I knew
That there was a sign of hope, a sign of
Dignity, as I grew up the light grew bigger.
Now that I am older, I see the life I’ve never
Seen before, the outside world,
At once I could finally breathe
Without feeling trapped and lonely,
I cold I finally see
The light I never saw before.
Darren McGinty
Untitled
I had curly hair and now I don’t
I messed up oh no
What did I do
I guess we will ever know
What is happening
There is a bald man in a suit
Who is really really small
Moe Lester
Untitled
J is for JOHN
O is for OBJECTIVE
H is for HELPFUL
N is for NOBLE
M is for MARVELOUS
A is for AWESOME
T is for TRICK
U is for UNSELFISH
N is for NICE
D is for DARING
U is for UPSTANDING
Anon
Awesome
I am awesome,
My awareness just blossomed.
Don’t discriminate,
I am just grate.
Today I woke up late,
They just had to wait.
This is all I can think off,
Deal with it.
Jack Nolan Cunnane
Christmas Dinner
Christmas dinner is yummy,
It fills my tummy,
It’s my favourite part of Christmas,
I really do miss it,
It better be good this year,
And have it with a nice cold bear.
Blaithin Moran
Untitled
Predstavljam kako treba, kak’ su reklI prije mene
Ovo teče mI kroz vene, čekam vrijeme kada krene
Ne zovI manekene jer svI već znaju mene
Ja sam nadahnuće za versove I refrene
Predstavljam kako treba, kak’ su reklI prije mene
Ovo teče mI kroz vene, čekam vrijeme kada krene
Ne zovI manekene jer svI već znaju mene
ZadnjI reper u gradu nemre statI kada krene
Traže pravI rep, a serviram ga na svetI vam dan
RiječI pletiva kad bacite tetiva izletI vam van
falI tI daska, ja slobodno naletim na val
ovo je svetinja, broj jedan mI je spremnI za rat
Za Tram odletim na kat, zbog njih sam nekima brat
Ne headbengaju kmice kaj nose slabI vrat
Nemreš shvatit’ kak se klincu gubI svakI trag
Magija, na školskom izletu špura do Zagija
UzmI zrak I taknI mike na stageu
Jeb’o te bakin podrum, rakija, nakit za jedan lajk na pageu
ZapalI svijeću za boom bap, ja neću
Jer me diže ovo k’o da me Stole pressa na benchu
ImalI ste sreću čutI kak se matre krste
PredstavnicI zadnje vrste, spremnI slomit’ stare prste
PapcI nestanu kad stave prsten
Nisu srčanI osim ak’ umrem I sebI presade srce
Refren
Predstavljam kako treba, kak’ su reklI prije mene
Ovo teče mI kroz vene, čekam vrijeme kada krene
Ne zovI manekene jer svI već znaju mene
Ja sam nadahnuće za versove I refrene
Predstavljam kako treba, kak’ su reklI prije mene
Ovo teče mI kroz vene, čekam vrijeme kada krene
Ne zovI manekene jer svI već znaju mene
ZadnjI reper u gradu nemre statI kada krene
ZajebI loto listiće, kladivo iz Germanije
Novo sranje vanI je k’o vrhovI iz Albanije
I tjera starije da razmisle malo realnije
O sociološkoj strukturI nego o vremenu narkomanije
A ja ću zapisat u ritmu frikov momak u kiltu
ispričat priču kak’ su nekI dan pozvalI hitnu
U gradu kaj ne brije na blitvu svI imaju briju I britvu
Jer nije svatko Šintu da ima fintu
Il’ ko reper zvan Stoka kojI je gangsta kad roka
Ima dva oka koja te vide kad sI urokan, kad skačeš kao klokan
Jedan neponovljivo ovo T je slovo za tvrdo neponovljivo govno
I kaj je novo da smo opet skupa kao grupa
Srce lupa predstavljam 11 kad se nastupa
Imam u radu da su tupost I glupost u padu
Pa recI stadu da sam posljednjI reper u gradu
Refren
Predstavljam kako treba, kak’ su reklI prije mene
Ovo teče mI kroz vene, čekam vrijeme kada krene
Ne zovI manekene jer svI već znaju mene
Ja sam nadahnuće za versove I refrene
Predstavljam kako treba, kak’ su reklI prije mene
Ovo teče mI kroz vene, čekam vrijeme kada krene
Ne zovI manekene jer svI već znaju mene
ZadnjI reper u gradu nemre statI kada krene
Vukovarac pravI kune; moram, nije trend
I ponekad je mikorofon moj jedinI frend
PratI me boombep, funksterI su bend,
Tramvaj institucija, nekI tvrdI brend
DrugI tvrde, prde, najebu pa se srde
Na zadnje repere u gradu škole tvrde
Rokam ih k’o zečeve, rime tope glečere
Tramvaj gazI Judu prije posljednje večere
Dok uvlačite dimove slušate rep divove
Uskladite satove spremnI smo za ratove
PolomilI ste vratove, nosit crno zakon je
Pozdrav za tribine I za pretrpane zatvore
Ismijavam lažnjake k’o ekonomske migrante
SvI ste u prolazu samo najboljI se pamte
Hejtere što pate šutiram kao stare kante
Ja sam taj general, Gotovina Rep Ante
Refren
Predstavljam kako treba, kak’ su reklI prije mene
Ovo teče mI kroz vene, čekam vrijeme kada krene
Ne zovI manekene jer svI već znaju mene
Ja sam nadahnuće za versove I refrene
Predstavljam kako treba, kak’ su reklI prije mene
Ovo teče mI kroz vene, čekam vrijeme kada krene
Ne zovI manekene jer svI već znaju mene
ZadnjI reper u gradu nemre statI kada krene
ZadnjI reper u gradu, hook mjuze s Balkana
U studiju dok rime bacam zveckaju karike lanca
Vrtuljak je hrđav, ljuljačke stare kraj placa
Beat klizI kroz noć, iza stare zgrade se klackam
Alfa, pokrivena faca, marker, pošaranI znanac
KuhinjskI nož je zapasan, sprejeve grije ranac
ReperI nestalI s ceste, magla je prekrila klanac
Jedino ostalI mI u svitanje prije dana
Na sivome malom kvartu uz Nekija, brata bana
Repanje tvoj je hobi, menI je duhovna hrana
Tetovaže crtao život, ne prolaze k’o kana
NisI dorast’o tog klana, snage za to kao Vana
TrepovI – praznI repovi, tvrde lirike španam
20 godina zanat, 7 albuma bez plana
Uz Targeta I Wooa, Jantara k’o crna vrana
ZadnjI budan sam I pišem za osmijeh mojih fana
Ante
October
October is spooky season
Fav time of year
Love the crunchy leaves
And Halloween
Love the sweeties
And dressing up
Anon
The World
What is the world gone ta
Brexit, China and trump
That’s all you see on the newspaper to day
Climate action strikes
And battery powered everything
What has the world gone to
Say I there is only one ways to make a pound
Technology the only way to go
The taxman has ya screwed anyway
Jack Reilly