Art by Mark Conlan https://jamartprints.com/artist/mark-conlan/
Shine
The sun is in my eyes
It’s really irritating
The sun is always in my eyes
It never really goes away
I can name so many times the sun’s been in my eyes
It gives me bad migraines
The sun headache is coming on
It’s an inevitability now
The sun’s gone we behind the clouds
I miss it now.
Concise
I like short poems,
The ones with simple sentences and simple words that hit you like an arrow
Because it is so direct and so honest
And leaves out the unnecessary
The kind where you have to stop and read again.
Gone Game
It’s hard to play the team that beat us by 42
But we didn’t care, and were looking to go through
The day was wet and the grounds were muddy
But who would’ve guessed how the game went bloody
We fought and put our bodies on the line
Until the ref blew the whistle
But it was no good
And the pitch was a flood
Of parents, mothers consoling us
Because we lost by 4 points, what a bust.
A Place
I come from a place
A place of pride
Where the people win
Or head to the bin
You take to the field
Where the enemy must yield
You must leave everything there
Even if u leave with nothing
Try hard enough, and you might be something.
See-Through
As the night crept in cold as ice
On that faithful night everything began to look clearer.
As the days continued on like the turning of a clock
My world suddenly began to become like glass
With how clear I could see through people’s lies
And detect their imperfections.
As a result of this I was never wrong
However it came at the cost of happiness.
Boxing
Boxing is the loneliest sport in the world.
Train with my team
Prepare with a dream
But In the ring it’s just me
All alone, nowhere to hide
Only option is turn and fight.
Untitled
Everyone wants to succeed on different levels,
It’s always some backed up need for authentication,
But it doesn’t always lead up to validation,
And it’s followed up by forever expectation.
Discover
I can’t wait to leave this island
Travel the world and see new things
Meet new people who respect and
Believe in what their thinking
Not knowing what will happen
If I’ll see a goat or a kraken
Learn about new culture
Maybe see a vulture
And if someday I return home
I’ll have stories from all around the dome.
Burning Coals
We rage our molten fire in our soul
Burning our dreams like embers off coal
Steel chains that don’t burn from passion within
Nailed down by other’s hopes in our worlds that won’t spin
We stare at our greatness, not told to us
Be told we know nothing and we shouldn’t rush
But by our speed we must run
Because with our speed we can reach our sun
This steel without passion and nothing we see
Their joy for us is nothing we want to be
Our false truths of steel so cold
When our true truth is from our choice to be bold
So strike your steel
And turn your wheel
Burn ember more than chains
And mark your joy in your brain
See what’s not your greatness told
But your greatness that will never fold.
Palpitations
My fingers tightened around the door handle,
My mind, preparing myself for the horror
Which I was soon to experience.
My heart, screaming at me to give up,
My imagination, betrays me,
Conjuring nightmares of ghouls and terrors unthinkable.
But this, is a necessary step forward to take,
In the time it takes for lightning to flash,
The door swings open, my feet rush to the finish line,
My soul, preparing to die.
I make it to the end, turn on the light,
And go to the bathroom,
With the door closed, I am safe,
But soon, I have to go back to bed.
‘Silly Goofy’
I know that I’m a clown, and I mean that nicely.
I like the laughter of my peers,
My closest friends especially.
I feel that I’m a Jester,
Jesting at a King,
It’s the only way I ever could really think of being.
I joke about my friends, and I joke about my foes,
In every joke there is some truth,
It’s how I get my thoughts across.
I’m just a silly goofy clown,
And I say that with a smile,
I joke and jest and have some fun,
It’s all really worthwhile.
Machine
Freedom they said
At the end we’ll end up dead
Working hard or hardly working
No matter what I’ll go out shooting
All I want is to win
They say it’s all within
With this and with that
It feels like I’m holding back
Working like a dog
I wonder if I’m doing it wrong
Trying my best
To get that medal around my neck
Working around the clock non-stop
Trying to get that feeling.
Comfort
As I lay in bed
The rain pelting off the window
I felt the familiar demons running around my mind
And the feeling of loneliness has returned
It’s returned with a vengeance it’s returned with strength
A strength I am not strong enough to fight
But then you appear like a light in the pitch-black night.
You take my hand and pull me into a hug so tight
That all the demons are banished for a short while.
So stay with me and continue to help me breathe
Continue to help me see that I am more than my anxiety
In this moment just stay with me.
And I’ll return the favour next time
Your own problems get too much.
Worth It
The excitement and fear of training
Running into the hall while it’s raining
Looking at all the other girls tricks
Checking my phone seeing the time tick
Fixing my wheels and tying my laces
Jumping and spinning as my heart races
The pressure of gliding without taking a fall
While everyone’s looking at you in the middle of the hall
The pressure of competing
Without a thought of cheating
Being put to the test
While trying your best
Trying to be as good as Alexandra Trusova
While knowing one mistake, and it’ll all be over.
The bruises and tears
While everyone cheers
People telling me that “you deserve this”
But I can’t help thinking “is competing worth it?”.