Art by Christina O’Donovan https://jamartprints.com/artist/christina-odonovan/
Sleep
I close my eyes and try to get sleep
I flip onto my side and start to count sheep
When all the sheep have been counted I have not yet dozed
I didn’t get any sleep that night and it shows.
Stand Out
I am a boy that doesn’t like to be myself
I try to fit in, so I hide my grin
I can’t wear the clothes I like because it gives me a fright
People would think I’m different and that’s the whole point of it
I want to be myself, but I’m scared of everyone else.
Hanging up the Boots
A sport I grew up loving
A training session I was excited to go to,
Turned into the sport I hated
The training session I dreaded
All because one coach
Wanting to quit but not wanting regret
But would staying fill me with regret
I don’t know what to do
Do I leave or do I stay and hate each day I had to put on my boots
I stayed
Gradually each session got better as I grew to learn to not listen to the negativity
I felt the love for my sport come back
I wanted to put my boots on and go out to play
I’m happy I stayed for younger me.
Pilgrim
In the west I’m a pilgrim,
From the eastern steppe I came
In the east a traitor,
Left Slavic lands, my gain
But I am not defined,
By just one single world
Both lands I call mine,
But neither claim me as their own
I am a lonely pilgrim
With no place to call home
So I am doomed to wander
So I am left to roam,
With to lands I call mine
But neither claim me as their own.
Life is Beautiful and Bright!
Life is free and easy,
Life for people is everything,
Life is sometimes busy.
Life is smiles and flowers,
Life is unfair, yeah,
Life is colored like grass
All you have to do is open your eyes.
Smiling makes our lives easier
You forget all the problems,
Just learn to appreciate it
And just try to live.
We live like in an unsolved dream
On one of the convenient planets…
There are many things that we do not need at all,
And what we want is no.
This life is only yours…
And it’s up to you
Where will the lighthouse be?
Where will your berth be?
Why should we live?
Remember what should not be forgotten …
That the sun will rise every day
And the morning wind will dispel the fog
This truth is still stronger than lies.
Live now, love now, enjoy today
Every second is a chance,
That we must move forward.
DO NOT MISS!
My Grandad
Seeing him, on the hospital bed,
The man who was an inspiration to all was now so vulnerable
‘This is his last breath’ is what my uncle said,
The pain was insufferable.
With tears in all of our eyes,
I was glad that I was holding his hand as he took his wings
I could hear the silence, and then the cries
With all of the pain that this brings.
The man who I looked up to,
My favourite supporter was now my angel
He watched me as I grew
Not hearing his voice is now so painful.
SKIN
the mask i wear is my skin,
it keeps all of my feelings in.
it holds me together like a bottle of glue
it stops emotions from showing through.
skin is like a barrier from the outside place
it helps me hide my true face.
skin can be easily broken but not me
i’m as strong as i can be.
Solace
I stand in the middle of an empty street
And though the birds tweeting and the sound of silence may be deafening
I find solace in the fact
That this sight stands here with me.
I stand in the middle of a busy street
And though the cars beeping and the children cheering may be deafening
I find solace in the fact
That this sight stands here with me.
I stand in the middle of an empty street
And though the alarms wailing and the rubble withering may be deafening
I find solace in the fact
That I am unable to change the way of this world.
Untitled
Drawing our portraits in permanent marker,
You are who you are from the initial encounter.
Engraved in the mind, we will meet again.
Judged from your looks and how you pretend.
No matter if it’s you or how you are today,
I’ll place you in a box and that’s where you’ll stay.
Confined and tormented, there’s nothing to brag,
Attitude towards you is based off your tag.
Worth is undefinable with just a word,
Seek the full story, and your vision will be unblurred.
Not Right
Maybe this isn’t right,
Because I really tried to understand,
But when I held you like heavy grocery bags,
You let me go like sand.
Maybe this isn’t right,
Because I didn’t even ask for a fancy date,
I just wanted you to show up early,
But you always ended up being late.
Maybe this isn’t right,
And people told me so,
But I wanted to believe in you,
And I didn’t want to let you go.
Maybe this isn’t right,
But I’ll still keep our picture on my wall,
And don’t ask me to stand because for you I’d always fall.
The Reality
“You are always smiling”
That is the sentence I hear all the time.
The words repeated back at me when I ask to be described
The happy friend is always the one that hurts the most
The “group therapist” is the one that is in therapy
Because when times got rough, they wore the smile
The safety blanket.
The mask
Learning to be the actor on the screen is difficult
But breaking character is harder
Smiling through your tears
As they drown you in your sorrows.
Academic Pressure
No one ever talks about academic pressure
Once you feel the pressure you become your own compressor
It becomes a weight you carry your whole life
No one dares listen to your strife
You put yourself in a mental jail at the first sight of a fail
You feel disappointment that doesn’t exist
The opportunities that you have missed
No one ever talks about academic pressure.
Untitled
Metal grinds against the floor,
To pick it up is to exalt,
The feeling of purity,
The animalistic sense of joy when the metal grinds again,
The remaining thought, is a simple obscurity,
When I rise again,
A sense of joy.
The Lads
The lads are here the lads are here
They’ll infest your head like maggots with bread
Their lion is here their lion is here
He cheers them like sailors to war
Hara Hara, they say as their pride drifts away
They’re just like you but they won’t tell you
They hide their saddened minds
The day will come when they see
That the sunset will rise.
A Fear
When I was younger I lived in a rough area
Seeing this a kid shouldn’t see I would see
Homeless people out begging,
Taking drugs and sleeping on the streets
It scared me
I thought that I would end up like that
And it was a fear that stuck with me.
I said to myself that I would never let this be me
And that I’d do anything in my power
To not end up like this.
masked
i wear a mask everyday, i cannot take the mask off my face
that is why i am wearing the mask
wearing the mask is a big task
taking off the mask would be a big ask
the mask keeps all the emotions in a big flask
when i wear my mask i have to multitask
wearing the big mask is like i’m in a big cask
i am the wearer of the mask
the mask is my skin, it keeps the feelings in
“be gay” “be gay” “be gay”
that’s what they all say.
Dreams
The music in my heart it plays and to me it says
You can try your best but you won’t succeed
but now I shall take the lead
I try my best I drum away
to my own rhythm I shall play
With every day I try my best I keep on going
I don’t feel stressed
I put on my headphones and I block out the noise
no one controls me
I’m no one’s toy
I’ll keep on doing what I know
and hopefully one-day
l’ll play at an overcrowded show.
Being Me
When I was young I realised that sometimes
Being you isn’t enough
So thought I was cool
Then I almost drowned in a swimming pool
Everyone laughed
While the teacher asked
What I was doing
I was slagged for not being able to swim
So I injured a limb while in the gym.
tall people
I hate tall people
I hate their long legs
It makes me feel short
especially in sport
while i’m on transport
I see tall people
I quake in my shorts
because im 5’4.