Art by Gary Reddin: https://jamartprints.com/artist/gary-reddin/
Architects Of Fate
All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.
Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.
For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.
Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.
In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.
Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.
Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.
Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.
Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.
Soothe My Mind
I am myself but somehow don’t know myself so good
I’m sort of confused and lost in near adulthood
I struggle a lot socially and have suffered with anxiety
I’m trying to understand myself in this over-confusing society
But away from that, I have many pastimes
I play many sports and talk to friends in my spare time
I probably waste too much of it
But I often find that hard to admit
I hate that life is filled with uncertainty
But I’ll try to handle anything cheerfully
I try hard to be affectionate and kind
If it could be returned, maybe that would soothe my mind
Better Me
I wanna be a better me and a kind loving person
Help people are experiencing what i went through.
I want to be someone friends can come to
If they are in a tight spot or need help.
I want to help my mom as she’s been there my whole life.
She’s like the living reincarnation of Wonderwoman.
Although she can nag me sometimes i can tell in her voice
That she is always looking out for me.
I want to be a good example of how a man should be to others.
Not the mainstream toxic masculinity.
I want to my brothers to be able to have a solace
Others to to voice their opinions and not be told that’s wrong.
I want to let people know that if we continuously let others judge us
And dictate how we are we will only be a reflection
Of our surroundings and not be in connection with ourselves.
“I’d rather have peace with myself and be in war with the world,
Than be at war with myself and have peace with the world”
And its always death before dishonor, and i will always try live by this.
New Beginnings
I was a bit scared when i moved
Up to Clondalkin I didn’t have many friends,
Felt left and was socially anxious to meet new people.
All the boys I’m mates with now brought me in
They all noticed who I really was.
A scared little kid with that bit of fight in him.
Life as a teenager around here is hard
Seeing the older people who you once wanted to be like
Getting locked or killed over drugs and robbery’s.
These are just the small things you’ll see around here.
Every corner you’d find someone looking for drugs,
Selling drugs or doing drugs around here
It’s usually just the weed that everyone mad smoking
But really they’re just a big group of fools.
These are some of the struggles of how it was like
Growing up in Clondalkin, what I’ve just said
Hasn’t been the worst time in my life.
I’d say the time a felt the worst was around last summer
When my da was kicked out of the house for awhile,
This hurt me that much because I’m very close to my da and
He’s one of the only people to this day
Who will always be there for me.
This was some of the struggles that the majority
Of us youths have to face living in Clondalkin
Wake And Smile
I wake up every day with your smile on my mind.
It’s a beautiful sight to behold, so soft and so kind.
My dreams are filled with the thought of me and you.
I awake and smile, for my dreams have come true.
I have you to guide me through my troubles and fears.
I’ll always be here for you through your struggles and tears.
Protect
I want to be a man that can protect or provide,
I don’t want to ever rejected or divided
People who have things going on inside,
I want the woman I’m walking with to feel safe and protected
I want to be the man that keeps everyone included, selected,
I want to be the man that people can rely on
I want to be the man that people
I want to be a man with a shoulder to cry on
Hundred Percent
The Man I Want to Be
Want everyone to see
I am hardworking
I am dedicating
I go hundred percent
That’s the job of a gent
If you believe you can achieve
Don’t give up always keep your chin up
Kind
I want to be a kind person.
I want to be a shoulder to cry on.
I want to be someone to support you
And help you through.
I want to be someone you can trust
And turn your problems into dust.
Time Of Need
Girls that come to you will always go in the time of need,
It always ends up with them leaving you on read,
They say but don’t follow through,
With words so empty you never know what to do,
So you moved on with all your might,
You find yourself in another relationship,
With a girl that is true,
With a lot of courage maybe this time it will bloom.
Paint Tablets
I am autistic but that is mystic
ADHD doesn’t bother me
I take tablets that taste like paint
Even though i take them I’m not a saint
I don’t get offended by any words
I don’t get upset over any birds
For PKU i need to go to temple street
I have big legs but small feet
Need
I don’t like people and yet I need them,
I feel like I come from
A completely different realm
And yet I am one and the same,
A human, We all need things,
Everything is connected
With a bunch of strings,
And we all try to cling to it.
And I have to admit,
I feel now that it’s not the only way to live
Chillin
Chillin here writing a poem
Wondering when I’m gonna get home
Don’t have a clue about what I can write
This is probably gonna turn out shite
I’m already tired and have more to do
When it comes to rhyme i don’t have a clue
Gonna need to pen something inspirational
But I am not one bit motivational
Open Eyes
Expectations are the pinnacle of my demise,
I look upon my future with great big open eyes,
I reach up aiming for the skies,
However I’m always gifted with a shocking surprise,
People tell me I’m good enough for the prize,
But it’s always lies, I put on a disguise,
Weigh Up
I’m trying to weigh up the man I wanna be
In a world as deep and unknown as the Dead Sea
But this sea won’t help me stay afloat
I haven’t got the guidance of a lighthouse or the safety of a boat
In short I want to help friends and family
Keep them safe and offer security
Give them everything they could want
But to do this I cannot be so nonchalant
I want to be able to help people through life’s pain
And wash away their strife and concerns like the rain
I want to help everyone
And be the light in their darkness just like a midnight sun.
Change
People treat you badly when you’re at your worse
And better when you get stronger, it’s almost a curse
COVID gave me the time to improve
It’s an opportunity that i’m grateful for
The laziness has stopped I’m glad it has dropped,
The skills I have learnt changed me forever
Liberator
I want to be a liberator not for myself
But for people like me,
The ones who were exiled f
For being different,
The ones who were forced
To change to fit in,
The ones who cry by themselves,
But love everybody,
The human shields of emotions,
The real ones.
Wishlist
I wish to be brave and not hide in a cave
I want to feel happy and not feel crappie
I want to be rich and not in a ditch
i want to have friends that i trust
And not friends that are dust
I want to feel safe not always on the pace
This is what i wish for and i will maybe have one day
Dreams
I could talk about my dreams,
Share stories and jokes.
I could express my feelings,
My hopes and my worries.
Just always think about happiness,
And never give up the hope.
We are all humble towards each other.
Enough
People say I don’t do enough, don’t try enough ,
It may be cause I’m lazy
Or I don’t enjoy it maybe I’m not enough,
I always try to make it on school teams
But I’m not good enough,
I try to be Friends with different girls
But maybe I’m not enough,
Now i always look at myself
And think I’m not enough,
I started to change myself
For the better and started working out,
Playing sport and trying my best
But maybe, “I’m not enough”,
Its time to stop this type of thinking
And say to yourself that i am enough,
No matter how much you improve yourself
You will always think “I’m not enough”,
Everyone around me thinks Im not enough,
Everyday people who aren’t enough walk into school
People are asking you did you make this team
That team My efforts were not enough,
They come home your parents ask for your test results ,
They tell you, you didn’t do well enough.
Potential
The man i want to be
Is to live up to my potential
To become comfortable with life
To live a good life
To hopeful have a uneventful life in the future
Have a good mindset
To strive for what i do
Marathon
The man I wanna be is
One that does flee from situations
That are wrong, to give my opinion strong
Not to run along with the way things are going on,
Even if this journey feels like a Marathon,
I’m trynna become the man i want
Humans
People can be hard to understand,
The complexities that not even AI,
Have learned to comprehend,
Are emotions just their chemicals?
Or are they more than our bodies.
Even still, with all this hard wiring in our brain,
If humans are social creatures,
Why is it so hard,
To speak what’s in my head,
Why can’t I just learn how,
To stand out amongst a crowd,
Rather than follow suit like a deck of cards,
Flocking to the next field like a herd of sheep,
Why is it that the negative,
Is so much louder than my positive
No Fear
The man I want to be,
A man I want to be
Is a man with no fear,
One that people trust
Without feeling scared.
One that women love
Not for the body
But for the personality.
The Man
The man I want to be is a good father,
The man I want to be is kind,
The man I want to be is someone people can look up to,
The man I want to be is someone that people can aspire to be like,
The man I want to be is proud of himself,
The man I want to be makes his family proud.
Man To Be
There’s many to be, but most can’t see
Comparing to others, but cant see one another
Claiming to be brothers most don’t know how to act
Cause they ain’t came from a single mother
They don’t know about the struggle cause they’re so focused on success
You don’t have to smuggle and claim to be the best
If life was a test it shouldn’t be about how many you impress
But how you changed and progressed not on how well one can dress
Many if not all cant agree on what kind of a man to be.
Free
I was not made for failure but success
Not born for sorrow but for happiness
I Keep this in mind through all life’s storms and stress.
I Hold up my head
I were not born a slave but free as air
In all the beauty of the world we share
I live with the morals to be kind
These Things
The man i want to be is respected, honourable and courageous.
I want to be there for my friends, family and everyone around me.
I want to be remember as someone who was loving, caring and helpful.
I want to grow up as man to be independent and be able to provide for
The people that i surround myself with and that i care for.
These are the things i want to be like as a man.
Choices
Nobody chooses who they are
But some people choose to make people change who they are
Which leaves people to question who am I?
When they can’t answer they get angry
They’re anger makes them different
It makes them the bad person
It makes them the last person
They then change their version
From the kid who had a vision
To the kid that made drugs their first decision
They then have an even bigger decision
Because I Can
The things I want to do,
Are the things people
Don’t expect from me,
The things I want to do,
Are things people told me i cant,
The things I want to do,
Are things I’ve been working at
The things I want to do
I will do because I can
Future
I am a man who wants to be free,
I am a man who wants no chains on him,
I am a man who wants to get away from everything,
I am a man who has a good life but one with struggle,
I am a man with a bright but difficult future,
I am a man, this is me
Adulthood
I am myself but somehow don’t know myself so good
I’m sort of confused and lost in near adulthood
I struggle a lot socially and have suffered with anxiety
I’m trying to understand myself in this over-confusing society
But away from that, I have many pastimes
I play many sports and talk to friends in my spare time
I probably waste too much of it
But I often find that hard to admit
I hate that life is filled with uncertainty
But I’ll try to handle anything cheerfully
I try hard to be affectionate and kind
If it could be returned, maybe that would soothe my mind
.
I Am One
I am one , I am here
I am quiet , I am kind
The only one who will relax ,
I am the only one that
Wants to enjoy this time
I am trying to be calm ,
I am trying and that
Is more then some
I don’t smoke or vape ,
i don’t want to try
Because I want to try and enjoy
All Men
All men try to be, and all men try to see,
All just to show their masculinity.
We men just want to be free, have a degree,
We men want to be key and all this to guarantee
To agree and not to disagree on all the bad influences
Just if only you could see through their lenses,
Cause they don’t know your climbing all those fences,
They don’t know about all those expenses, offences
And all those non attendances,
All they want is to be seen as a man to be
Respect
I want to be the man that people can come to when there feeling down
I want to be the man that my little brother looks up to
I want to be the man who treats people with respect
I want to be the man who people can feel safe around
Strive
I want to be better then the person next to me.
I want to change options that people have on me.
I want to the person people look up to.
I dont want to be the person parents use as a bad example.
I want to strive to be the person my dad wants me to be
Masculinity
The man I want to be from the man I am,
The man who appreciates the little things,
The man who isn’t afraid to laugh or cry,
The man who lives in peace,
This is masculinity
Challenges
I am a guy who tries their hardest,
One that faces all the challenges that God throws
One who knows that you can’t succeed without trying.
I am a person who sees the world in colour despite cruel things.
I am one that is comfortable in their own skin.
Time
We have to realise that time was just created
To figure out how old you are,
Its not something to tell you what you can and cant do
From telling children they cant make a difference and
Telling you elders that there too old to reach there dreams
You can chose what you want to do, be or become.
I don’t want to be a a blade of grass in a field
I want to be the moon on a dark misty night.
So for me to be what i want to be
I must first tell your that you are you and i am me.
No Different
It is all i can do
To me to be true
I am myself, self is me
I am not ,what i am not and all that i am
I cannot be other than what i am.
Bend ma, twist me as you will
But i cannot be other than me
Accept or reject as you will
I am what i am and can be no different
Better
Do better, be better,
That’s what they say
Everyday.
Parents ask me to study,
But they don’t understand the anxiety,
The stress,
To be better than the rest.
Teachers ask for more,
But they don’t feel the pressure.
Ball
From sitting in the flats, chasing the rats
To living in council estates
To playing kerbs with the boys
To doing laps around the block
And playing ball till night
Always Tomorrow
In my life there’s a lot of
Travelling and challenging
From the train carriages rattling
To the thoughts in my head rambling
From deaf parents to step parents,
From county to county, cloudy days to glory days,
School in Dublin and home in Carlow, a
And friends who i cannot follow,
But there is always tomorrow the world is so hollow.
Imagination
I’m quiet and small but
My imagination is tall
I like gaming and code
But to scared to show
I’m not good at making speeches
Or talking to other people
But if i changed these features
Then i wouldn’t be the person i am
Cars In Flames
In the town of Tallaght
There is a smell of weed
Up and down up and down and all around
There is no sleep at night .
Because of the junkies of the night.
The cars burning up in flames
Wish i didn’t live in Dublin
Analytical
Shut your ugly-ass mouth up!
Man, you’re just cringe
Don’t even speak bro
Why risk the ridicule?
When you’ve a lisp
And you’re not that cool
When you miss when it’s critical
Mr. Analytical, can’t you not understand?
You’re all alone in this land
God, you got no right hand man
No, you know what?
Just stop thinking,
Just turn this thing off
Man I’m done
Happy
I am a guy
That tries to get by
With what i have
And with the opportunities
I get given to hope
One day to set
An example to others
So i can be happy
Exhale
Try to love yourself,
Exhale the negativity,
Inhale the positivity,
Do what you love and desire,
Never give up, be yourself
Popularity
Nobody chose who you are u are u.
People only make fun
Of each other for popularity.
Never listen to other people.
Don’t let people judge you