Presentation Secondary School, Loughboy, Co. Kilkenny

Summer Walks

I stroll down the lane to your house,
Freshly cut grass meets me as I stumble up the steps,
I almost knock,
Forgetting myself.
I continued to walk around the back,
Once a freshly cut lawn is now 6 inches high.
I look to the porch, and I can almost see you,
Sitting there upon your chair knitting yet another scarf.
But that hasn’t happened for a while now, and it never will again.

Kelly Lanigan

It’s Cancerous

Staring at that screen 4 hours a day, your life’s wasting away
Snapchat and Insta and VSCO and acting older than your age
My parents ask each other ‘what happened to the good old days?’
When the phone was a book and the TV had two channels
When people our age weren’t always stuck to that display panel
Eyes square and brains indoctrinated by images that are advertising
Impossible shapes and colours and places and shallow lives
It’s a pity, our lives are wasting away…

Anon

From the Day

From the day you are of age you’re put into school
Eight years of primary then another six of secondary
Same routine every day, you feel weighed down
Wake up, go to school and sit in classrooms all day
Take in information of no significance
Go home, do your homework and study for exams
The pressure gets heavier each passing year
You’re told to work harder or you’ll get nowhere in life
Stress, breakdown, crash and burn
Your brain feels like a candle burning from both ends, you’re burnt out
You don’t know what you want to do with your life
Because you’ve been treated like a robot for so many years
No creativity, sense of originality
You’re either super smart in the education system
Or you’re told you’re a failure, a waster
High grades but nothing to show for it
Memorize paragraphs of information
But they mean nothing once you leave school
Go into a boring job you hate but it pays the bills so you stay
Years go by, you hate how your life played out

Anon

Mi Vida

La mejor etapa de mi vida
Un momento en el que las preocupaciones no existen,
Y todo a tu alrededor es felicidad y risas.

La mejor etapa de mi vida
Aquella de la que recuerdo algunos fragmentos.
Mis amigos y familiares, ellos se encargaron de enseñarme lo mejor,
Y que la mejor etapa de mi vida fuese lo mas feliz posible.

La mejor etapa de mi vida,
Buenos recuerdos se me vienen a la mente cuando pienso en ella,
Momentos con familiares y amigos una etapa muy inocente.

Paula Morales

Definition

Feminism- The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.

Not a crazy dramatic woman declaring : “We are God’s gift”.
We deserve the world.
We are the better sex, all men are useless.”

Not People taking the piss, teasing, taunting-
“Aw you’re a feminist really? So you want to kill all men.”

Not people thinking “Feminism is Cancer.”

Equality has no swastika.

The fight for equality has been twisted, tangled
Turned into a negative
To suit the opinions of the oppressors
Individuals who are scared to see change.
Get your definition right.

Rosalyn Ryan

Blank

Being told to write a poem but all I can see is blank,
Blank screen,
Blank mind,
A blank sense of nothingness.

Yet my fingers are moving,
I’m pressing buttons making annoying clicking sounds,
And when I press there is something on the screen instead of nothing,
Maybe my mind is not blank after all.

Kelly Lanigan

The Clipboard

Since a young age, I was always told to believe
In fairy tales, romance and happy ever after,
Putting a blanket over my eyes, protecting me from the outside.
But, as years pass by they couldn’t hide it anymore
That awful night the closest person to me fell,
Another victim of a faceless enemy,
As days went by, I could only imagine the pain
I tried to stay with her by her bedside
The night-time fell
I lost more faith.
I remember the doctor’s drooped faces
Entering the room,
I prayed for the truth behind the clipboard
To be a lie.

Ciara Farrell

Blank Page

Staring at the page: Blank

My hands are shaking, my mind is spinning,
People around me screaming that “This is the beginning
If you want to have a good life.” But I can’t do this.

I don’t want to sit in a room sitting a test
Which people say defines the rest
Of my life. I just want to live.

I don’t want to be just an ordinary girl
I want to run and jump and travel the world
But I’m told otherwise.

Being told to sit in a room for hours on end
To study and study ’till your hearts content
But that isn’t me.

So here I am now, sitting staring at a blank page
But this page can be the start of a new faze
Of my life.

This blank page can be whatever I want it to be.
This blank page is me.

Noelle Dowling

Dirt

My first love was my best friend,
And I did not even know she was.

I still can remember
Those two chopped down birches,
The green rays of sun that
Rested on our children hands.

A taste of lemon and
Ice cream and dirt
On our lips
And the knowledge
That life –
It would never
Be this full again.

Sophia Stol

Hit or Miss

Knees go weak,
Hands and legs begin to shake,
Sweat rolling down my forehead, sending a shiver down my spine.
Panic suddenly arises.

Voices of encouragement on the side-line fade away turning into a loud hum.
I tighten my grip and throw up the ball,
I feel the vibration of the impact between the ball and the ash.
I’m too afraid to look so all I can do is hope it is enough.

Kelly Lanigan

Friendship

I want to thank you for being there
I look around everywhere
You are by my side
Every step I take you never let me hide
From those who judge me
To those who set me free
All I want to say
From this day
Onward thank you for being there

Sinead Murphy

Besties

I love my friends
Till the end
There the best
Better than the rest
Always there for me
I would cross the sea
For them

Abby O’Keeffe

Trap Door

As my parents fell through the door
I understood the reason why we were poor
One caution two caution three cautions four
Tried to rob a bank but only made it to the door
Guards came knowing we were rough
But we just sat there acting all tough
In the back of the squad car all we could think
Was how our lives changed all in a blink
All the boys on the block with their drugs on sale
Little did we know we’d all end up in jail

Lauren Shortt

Grandad

A big smile on his face
From a man who’s lucky to be alive
His heart beat at an abnormal pace
Granny telling me “he loved you”
I felt I could not survive
Without my best friend I sat next to
Awoke the next morning to find he’s still there
I went to see him the next day
A big smile on his face
From the man who is lucky to be alive.

Aisling Ward

La Familia

Son las personas que más te quieren en este mundo,
No las puedes escoger, pero si quererlos.

A veces la odias, pero sabes que van a estar ahí,
Pase lo que pase: c’est la vie

Tus padres, esas dos personas que te conocen desde que naciste
Siempre te van a aceptar tal y como eres siendo tu mismo,
Te ayudarán siempre y darán la vida por ti.

Los abuelos, ellos te ven nacer y crecer y tu solo los ves morir,
Es una cruel verdad pero nos llevamos muchísimas virtudes de ellos,
Todos los consejos que te van a dar para que la vida te sea más fácil,
Esos consejos no te los quitará nunca nadie. Escuchalos

Quierete, y mucho,
Todos somos diferentes así que,
Eres unico, sientete afortunado/a.

Paula

My Parents

My parents treat me like a baby, even though I’m very old,
They never let me out late because they just think I’m bold.
My parents need to let me free they protect me too much,
Just because I’m the youngest doesn’t mean they have to hold me like a clutch.
They are trying to teach me how to drive, I’ve been waiting since I was about five,
I’m seventeen now it’s about time they show me how.
My baby years are up, It’s time to trust me, just give it up.

Michelle

Los Amigos

Los amigos son como las estrellas
No siempre los ves
Pero sabes que estan ahi
En las buenas y en las malas
Siempre estaran para ti.

Podeis pelearos
Y pensar que vuestro mundo se ha acabado
Pero los amigos de verdad
Nunca se van a separar.

No hay muchos amigos que realmente sean de verdad
Pero los que lo son, casi en tu familia se convertiran.
Les puedes contar todos tus problemas
Que ellos te escucharan
Y por muy mal que te portes
Ellos te perdonaran
Porque saben que todo el mundo se puede equivocar.

A si que a tus amigos de verdad
Cuidalos porque para toda tu vida van a estar.

Delia Lopez de Castro

Write and Write

We write and write
All day long
As if our lives
Depend on it all

They may teach a lot
But not about how
To live in this world
Or have a happy life

We must get good grades
We must get good jobs
But fail at one thing
You may fail at it all

Anon

Hospital Beds

From a time where everything was normal
To one horrible morning
Then it all turned
Cold winter’s nights with one Grandad
Then the other
Both of them with the invisible killer
Travelling up to see each one
Only remembering them in different beds
That sterilised smell

Then there was the distance
The never ending motorway
Dark country roads
Then came that day where everything changed
For both sides of the family
When sadness multiplied by two
And two bright flames were gone

Sarah Jane Reilly Nicholls

Echo

Gawked at, like monkeys in a zoo,
But then so quickly cast aside
when another approaches.
Hours spent on hair, makeup, tan
For this? A quick kiss?

The echo of a warning from parents
But then judgement from girls
More regret than assurance.
More aggression than concern.
The echo of a heart beat

A ticket expired.

Keelagh

School System

I hate the school system
And we all know why,
So much pressure and stress
On every girl and boy.
Results and grades
Don’t matter they say,
But we all know they do
At the end of the day.
Just try your best
That’s all they ask,
But my best isn’t good enough
I failed all my tasks.
I feel sick to my stomach
Every night before bed,
Worrying if a future for me
Is even ahead.
I hate the school system
And we all know why,
So much pressure and stress
But I will give it a try.

Lauren Oglesby

You Must

You must be clever,
But don’t act smart,
You must be pretty,
But don’t act like you know it,
You must follow the rules,
But be a rebel,
You must be confident,
But don’t be cocky,
You must love yourself,
But not too much,
You must be unique,
But have to comply.

Anon

Impostor Syndrome

Your grades show that you understand,
Your achievements show you can.
But why do I feel like I’m a fraud,
And others will soon find out.

Certain ‘friends’ brag of their luck,
As everything seems to go their way.
Yet when I succeed,
There is some reason why its not valid.

They complain about things they sought out to do,
Rubbing it in to prove,
That you didn’t get this chance they have.
They can’t even be upfront.

From the amount of boys you know,
To how many nights out you have.
All the material things that ‘matter’.

People tell me I’m smart and capable,
Yet why do I either feel like an impostor,
Or that I’m not good enough.
Waiting for when they find out the truth.

That all of this is made up.

Farah Callaghan

Life

Life may be rough
Things may get rough
There will be bad days
It may seem like a haze
But through it all
Always, always stand tall
Giving up is not an option
Never turn
Your back and run
Through good times and bad
Through happy times and sad

Lauren

Great Expectations

Growing up being told you’re not smart enough.
And having to fit into a certain expectation needs to be stopped,
Being told what to and what not to wear,
Being treated like children but expected to act like adults
Grew up thinking if I didn’t do well in school Id get nowhere
Constantly worrying about becoming a waster
Thinking I’m not good enough beneath the shadow of these great expectations.

Aoife Maguire

Pressure

Your hair has to be this colour
Your clothes have to be this brand
Your face has to be this pretty
Your waist has to be this thin
Your legs have to be this long
Your arse has to be this big
Your insta needs this much likes
Your personality…
No one cares it’s just looks

Elise

‘Eye on the Ball’

I hear my father’s voice echoing
‘Eye on the ball’
But I can’t seem to focus
On anything at all
My head starts to spin
And my knees feel weak
When I wake up
I can hear the hospital bed creak.

Brid Walsh

Camogie

I have being playing camogie since I was in a nappy
Nobody cared once I was happy
People my age now out on the streets not a care in the world not even the smell of their feet
But I’m here now with my hurl and sliotor having a fear of people being so bitter
The whistle blows, the crowd roars, my excitement comes again

Reece Delaney

From The

From the farm in my wellies to hunt ball in my heels
From the Pres in Kilkenny to cantering around my fields
From practicing in the week to competing at weekends
From feeding the cows to going out with my friends
From selling strawberries to never missing a mass
From falling off horses and ending up in a cast
From loving it since I was 5 and hunting of a Saturday
Making lots of friends and memories come what may.

Anon

Money

There’s Money in Murder
If I had a coin for every lie I’ve been fed
I could buy the world thrice over.
Fed, quite literally, with the blood
Of the dying and the dead
Staining the earth in an unending torrent
Made of the limp forms of infants,
Thrown into a blender
To be ground alive,
Their only crime being their lives served no purpose
In the eyes of man
And money.

Anon

The Truth

There’s a truth that not many know,
About the world while your asleep
No matter where you go
There will be people
Who hate you for what you do
And everyone needs to experience heartbreak
Not to become better lovers but to learn even
With a slashed heart it can still beat…

Megan

The Babysitter

My friends are all taking shots
As I sit there and watch
I feel like joining in but I know that I can’t
Cause there is no one else to keep them safe
I run around after them and try to keep it calm
But I end up screaming as they’re flopping around
They wake up the next morning and don’t remember a thing
And I’m haunted of the image of them falling over everything
I clean up their sick and hold back their hair
And sometimes they don’t even know I’m there
They say I don’t need to mind them and I can have some fun
But I feel responsible as the oldest one
I am the babysitter

Anon

The Best Thing that ever Happened to Me

You are patient, you are gentle,
You are generous, you are reliable,
You are honest, you are exciting,
You are creative, you are original,
You are modest, you are brave,
You are beautiful, you are bright,
You are safe, you are forgiving.
You are strong.

You keep me warm, you make me laugh,
You take care of me,

Believe me when i say,
You are perfect.

Anon

I Come From

I come from a house of confusion
Tears, arguments, personal exclusion
Laying awake at night
Wondering what I did wrong
“why me?”
All the bad turned to worse
When we had to flee
England now in the past
Ireland a new `adventure`
Three years gone
Our futures are drawn
Holding onto where we came from
I live in a house of happiness, love and comfort
You live in a house of anger, regret and discomfort
A man who’s gaze is in a locked reflection
With constant rejection
The truth was finally undone
We won.

Molly Dennis

A Cheat

Once a cheat always a cheat,
He’s always the one getting cold feet,
He’s never gonna change,
He always gives me outrage,
Run back to the girl,
Because both of ye make me hurl,
You convinced me you changed,
But you showed me you’re just another one of the range,
If he keeps playing his games,
He’s gonna have people in flames,
I gave him a chance now it’s too late,
He will never get another date,
You stopped caring,
So I started disappearing,
I have got more sense now,
I’ve discovered the real you,
You treat girls like there nothing,
So start running,
Because you’re worth nothing.
You stopped caring,
So I started disappearing,
Once a cheat always a cheat

Orla O’Callaghan

A Promise

An empty page is a promise;
Awaiting the expounding of heart
And slip of glass.
Shards imbued with poisoned gold,
Ready to shatter.
Invisible, a wall
Whose mirrored claws take a hold,
Once grounded feel the shock.
Refracted reflections resound
All around, hear the silence
Of sharp minds resigned to blinded sleep.
They don’t want you to know,
Nor to think,
All they want
Is a herd of whitened sheep.

An empty page is a promise;
One from which to carve a knife.
But ’till you take upon your hands
This blade of retribution,
The corrupted darkness of these lands
Ensure their convolution.

Siobhan Brennan

The Truth about the South East

When you’re from the south east your nothing but a mouth piece
All the lads here just break hurls and pull girls
If you play county minor you’re classed as one of the finer
Every corner you take there’s no way to escape the heartbreak you create
In the southeast the sun don’t set here that gives some people some fear
So stay clear and don’t come down here
Close your curtains and lock your doors for this be cyclops country

SaraI and Vikii