Manning Up
Why can’t I fight?
Why can’t I cut my hair?
Why can’t I speak my mind?
Why can’t I build my muscles?
Why won’t I get boys if I do that?
Why can’t I push back if they push first?
Why can’t I wear that cause it’s not ‘ladylike’?
Maybe I don’t want to be ‘ladylike’
Or maybe I’m just not your definition of ‘ladylike’.
Anon
Whispering
Whispering voices behind your back,
Make you feel like you’re under attack.
Dirty looks and the constant stares,
But you have to act like you don’t care.
Five days a week, eight hours a day,
Making you feel the same kind of way;
Worthless, unwanted, like some sort of freak,
But you turn a blind eye – can’t appear weak.
Jennifer Nugent and Kim Anderson
A Struggle
Yeah it’s a struggle,
Every flipping day,
They say life’s a struggle so get on with it.
They don’t know how you feel,
They don’t tell you how to heal.
All they say is get on with, it it’s no big deal.
But at the end of the day,
All I will say is,
Even though it’s hard,
And I may struggle through it all,
You may see me struggle,
But you will never see me fall.
Rebecca King
“It’s not Depression”
“It’s not depression” she was told, with no end.
“It’s not depression” was all she heard from her ‘professional’ psychologist friend.
If it’s not depression, then it must not matter,
But that doesn’t mean that her confidence won’t shatter.
“You’ll be fine tomorrow, you’re just having a day”
but what happens when that day turns to days
and those days turn to a haze shadowed by the thought that she’s not okay.
But it’s fine
It’s not depression, it doesn’t matter, no one will care if her confidence shatters.
Jane Coogan
That Feeling
Do you ever get that feeling
When your brother puts his fist through a wall
And you just want to cry
And not be at home at all.
He does it every day
Breaking new things when he’s angry,
And it hurts me
Because I can’t help him
And he’s only twelve
And he doesn’t understand
That ADHD is his thing
And he needs to work with instead of neglecting it.
He hates himself for it
He hates seeing his family upset
He hates when he’s the problem
And he hates when he can’t control it.
And the kids outside don’t understand
Because they don’t know
They just think he has a temper
And think it’s funny to get him angry.
And it hurts me more than ever
To see him see himself as worthless
He thinks we all hate him
But all I want is for him to see
How much we all need him.
Anon
Relationships
Relationships are like a storm,
They come and go as they please.
Come in different sizes and shapes,
Never two the same,
Could last a long or short time,
Can cause damage.
But don’t let that fear of the storm,
Keep you from riding the wave.
Caitríona Castles
Untitled
He walks the halls no emotion shown at all
He sits in class not a single joke or laugh
He makes his way home completely unknown
He sits at the table and he feels like a stranger
Up in his room still not a sound to be heard
People say he’s shy
No one knows that’s a lie
Time soon passes
But he never returns to his classes
Jodie Leavy
Once Broken
Once broken
It shatters
With the absolute need
To be replaced with better.
With it comes
Comfort and confidence
Without it comes
Fear and misguidance.
When it’s there
Everything can be bright.
But once it’s gone
So is the light.
Julianne Harte
Our School Gym
This is where I sat on my first day of school nervous and alone
This is where I leave in two years’ time but I call it my home
This is where I flooded my Junior Cert English paper in tears
This is where we were warned and haunted about our future and college years
This is where we stood together on the last night of our musical, happy and proud
This is where our principal has repeatedly threatened her us for being too loud
So this is where we sat on our first day of school, nervous and alone
And this is where we’ll leave in two years’ time but we’ll call it our home
Ellen O Hara, Lauryn McElvanna, Molly Faganand, and Aoife No Shlatara
School
At ten to nine, we winge and whine.
The teachers are mean,
They make us clean.
They start talking,
My mind goes walking.
It’s usually boring,
Which leaving me snoring
There is too many rules,
That make us look like fools.
At ten to four, we run out the door.
Niamh Coffey
My Home
My home is where it all began
First words, first steps,
Learning the difference between can’t and can
My brother came along which brought some change
With lack of attention and fun
Paired with toddler rage
As we got old
Things did improve
And he knows now to do what he’s told
Anon
Our Country Today
People lying at doors
The government ignore
Perished with the cold, deprived of a home
They’re made feel completely alone,
If only you’d see they’re the vulnerable ones
There’s room for refugees, take them in you say
Don’t worry about the Irish, we’ll sort it someday.
Housing crisis on the rise,
Families told, “you don’t qualify”
Now tell me Taoiseach, tell me what you see,
I’m sixteen, what does the future entail for me?
Megan Jones
They Sit
They sit in silence
Upon a tree branch
Up in the highness
Above all the roofs
When In the darkness
They decide to hoot
And others can hear
The owls salute
Moyah O’Sullivan
Love
Knowing someone is there
A person with whom you share
It doesn’t come in a few days
It comes in like waves
Some days it can be tough
But the good days are enough
It’s hard to explain how you know
But when it’s there you won’t let it go
Anon
School
At this time and age,
Full of emotions filled with rage,
Minutes, hours, days,
All a big haze.
A chaotic place,
Things they will never say to your face,
A place where it is hard to make a friend,
Because might backstab you and it will come to an end!
Anon
I Want
I want to break her phone
I want to break her thumb
I want to break her drum.
I want to break to break her face but I better not in case
I want to stop the rain
Just to ease the pain
And learn how to be vain
Anon
A Shy Young Girl
I am a shy young girl, who tries to fit in.
Find it hard to express and say my own opinions in case someone judges me.
I look in the mirror and see myself and say “you are pretty you are strong”,
But on the outside I am a shy young girl.
Aine Mckeown
Untitled
They make you feel so little,
That you might as well not be there.
They put you on the spot,
And assume you’re stupid if nothing comes out.
They hear one thing about you,
And judge you from that moment.
You have the urge to call them out,
But they make you feel that you’re in the wrong.
Róisín Castles
My Friends
My friends are horrible people
They don’t know what to wear
They don’t brush their hair
We don’t make a good pair
Sometimes we get along
They can be pretty fun
When we stay out in the sun
We are all pretty dumb
Hannah Sherry
I Am
I am exhausted; I am tired, lethargic, slow and unsteady.
What is this dream I live in?
What is this dream I’m looking for?
I can’t even walk right
So many questions but not enough answers
I don’t know what I’m doing.
Is it the right thing? The wrong thing?
I am unsure but I am also so sure
Then why do I hesitate
I wish this would end
Sometimes
Charlotte Cleary
Friends
My friends are fools
They always break the rules
At first, they seem nice
But really they are cold as ice
They are always fun
But they can run
Really fast away from the guards
The end
Rachel Duffy
Why
Why is it that people are rude
And have such a bad attitude
People that insist on chomping their teeth
And create noise while they eat
Why is it that people don’t know
That it is annoying when they walk so slow
Why do they have to be careless
And leave such a mess
Why is so hard for some
To close the door when their done
People being constantly loud
Stuck in their own cloud
How do these little things
Effect our lives every day?
How easy would it be
To make them stop and go away?
Anon
Monday Mornings
Monday mornings aren’t easy
Going into school feeling queasy
Is my skirt too short? Is my hair alright?
Are my clothes too tight
Listening to teachers from 9-4
Ranting on about exams and tests
I usually stare at the ceiling and the floor
By 2:00 I’m getting lectured
About an exam that I didn’t perform
I roll my eyes and I get caught
My parents are called
They say their “distraught”
Even though I tell them every morning
I hate school and I’m not going
They question me and question me why?
I tell them it’s cause I don’t like the school
But really it’s because I’m not a fan of it for all reasons possible
Aoife, Ciara and Niamh
Untitled
They say your teenager years are the best years of your life,
But I don’t think that’s true.
If the teenage years are the best years of my life,
Why am I sad?
Why do I not want to wake up, to go to school,
With the dread of knowing I have to sit in classrooms all day
And listen to teachers drag on about things that aren’t relevant, and never will be.
If the teenage years are the best years of my life,
Why am I constantly worried about the people around me?
Worried they’re talking about me?
If the teenage years are the best years of my life,
Why am I afraid to walk down the street knowing that in the eyes of lonely old men
I’m old enough to appear legal, but young enough to suit their fancy?
If the teenage years are the best years of my life,
Why am I fighting with everyone around me,
Unable to talk to anyone without getting aggravated?
If the teenage years are the best years of my life,
Then why am I looking forward to the day they’re over?
Until I’m out of the house, in charge of my own life,
Without having people only treat me like an adult when it suits them?
If the teenage years are the best years of my life, does that mean this is the best it’s gonna get?
They say the teenage years are the best years of your life,
But I swear to you,
The best years of my life will be whatever years I make it.
Mya Norman
The Classroom
The classroom is filled with people who lie,
Who pretend they’re someone everyone wants them to be.
They judge the people around them as if they are perfect
And someone we should all strive to be.
You hear from teachers and adults around you,
That being yourself is the best thing to do.
But when being yourself is what is making you stand out and be judged for being different,
Its hard to.
I know I want to be who I am and of course its what I should be, b
Ut when it makes you lonely and feel left out, it can be the last thing your heart tries to be
My hopes for the future are bright and my outlook on life is great,
The only thing wrong is my self-esteem and hopefully soon I will be free.
Sarah Keane
Life
Life is a highway
So they say
With twists and bends
That will come to an end.
Tara Smyth
Untitled
I let some things slide even if they’re convictions,
I’ll make my excuses to subside addictions,
I can’t right what’s done wrong but I’ll silence what’s right,
I can take all you have in the space of a night,
I’ll make you second guess your beliefs,
I show you injustice, you’re too sheltered to see,
I can break anything no matter the cost,
Get in my path, you’re the one who’ll be lost,
The best thing is you won’t be believed,
I’m the one at power, the fools trust in me
I’m the Irish Legal System
Jaime Kinsella
My Ex
Everything from his deep brown chocolate eyes to the way he makes me special.
The way he was so gentle with me but also so rough.
Everything was perfect until that night.
April 18th 2018. My life changed forever.
The little inside jokes we had,
The way he was so self conscious about his skin and smile,
How he was one of the “lads” but still soft and cute.
He lit up my world and now everything’s black.
Megan Leonard
I Try
I try hard to be happy
I’m telling you what I like chappy
That’s me being funny
I like porridge with honey
I had a cat and a horse
I like hiking in the gorse
I like listening the music when I’m mellow
Chilling by the fire sipping coco with marshmallows
It’s the little things in life
When I grow I wanna be a wife
I hope to have a big family
Running in the meadows all happily
Zara Landy Danaher
Untitled
Cigarettes
Overwhelming debts
Mother left
Resorted to theft
Constant threats
Croquettes
Anon
Untitled
I was recently told that because I see a therapist,
I’m ‘cool’, as though I should take it as a compliment.
We live in a society where being depressed is ‘inspirational’
Where having anxiety is ‘relatable’
Where self harming is nothing more than an edgy tumblr post
Where a poetry competition is just an excuse to be as ‘deep’ as possible
Unless it’s actually real.
Unless it’s something you actually have to deal with.
Because there’s nothing less relatable or inspirational
Than sitting down with a therapist
And struggling to describe how you’re feeling,
Or worse, trying to tell your parents who don’t understand.
Mental health problems are more than just a fad,
But in today’s world, that’s all they seem to be.
Anon
The World
The world is beautiful
But there is so much pain.
Even when the sky is bright
To some people it just doesn’t look right.
Love is powerful
But so is hate.
Hate feels like your stomach is turning
But Love feels great.
There is so much happiness
But just as much sadness.
Pressure on people to be a certain way
When really they are beautiful in their own unique way.
The world is beautiful.
Anon
Stopped
The clock stopped ticking,
The gears stopped turning,
And time continued counting.
The heart stopped beating,
The blood stopped streaming,
And life continued flourishing.
Death is ruthless in its cunning ways,
Arriving when one least expects it,
Death is joyous in a surprising way,
Enveloping those who were in pain.
Life is a bomb waiting to explode,
Life is a timer counting down,
Death is the number zero.
Allie
School
We love school
We think it is very cool
We wish we could go everyday
And play outside In the hay
There is no reason to hide my feelings
I’m just always on top of the ceilings
Sorry we are such sops
We just want to be cops
Siobhan and Lili
Untitled
Hi there.
I have stomach pain.
Pain. Pain. Pain.
Bus. Bus. Bus.
Goosebumps on my skin.
Want to vomit.
Sweat. Sweat. Sweat.
Scared to get on the bus in case I vomit.
I don’t need another embarrassment in front of all those culchies.
Help.
Cry. Cry. Cry.
Anon
Every Day
I train every day
Rain, hail, sleet or snow
From Rathchairn to Croke Park
Who knows how far I’ll go
Through the injuries and pain
The ups and the downs
I’ll continue my battles
Until I achieve my crown
Ali Sherlock
Some Boys
Some boys aren’t worth it
They say they’ll change, heard it
Some boys could couldn’t care less
Not up for it ughhhh stress
Some boys can’t even communicate
Sometimes I wonder are u even straight
Some boys are no fun
Let’s just say I’m done
Mollie Goram
Fake Friends
Remind me of my split ends
Never want to make amends
Burn the candle at both ends
I befriend new friends and the cycle never ends
Ellen Higgins and Sophie Purcell
Two Cats
We have two cats
Annie’s is fat
Leah’s moves quickly
We bring them on dates
Because their such good mates
And hopefully they be
Making babies
Leah and Annie
Football
Football is fun
It makes you run
Sometimes people are fat
Football helps that
When the footballs in the air
Out comes the bear in square
Sometimes the coach’s frustration
Gives the team hella motivation
Meg and Katie
Untitled
Xangos is where the gang goes
Short skirts and muscle tops
Much better than tamangos
Drinking more than yops
Stumbling out of the car
Straightening up at the door
Asking if there is a bar
Only to fall on the floor
Over comes the bouncer
Asking for your age
Waiting for an answer
I can’t remember at this stage
Anon
My Dog
My dog is my best friend
I love him no end
He’s big and strong
And likes to play with a toy kong
He has a girl mate
They went on a play date
They lived happily ever after
And had lives full of laughter
Amelia Williams and Rachel Rennick
Sometimes
My friend razz
Has a lot of jazz
Sometimes she’s nice
Sometimes she’s not
Sometimes I want to hit her with a pot
When she gets me in a knot
And then I lose the plot
Emma