St. Brendan’s Community School, Birr, Co. Offaly

A Mask

 

A mask, what a task

The government has asked,

Others have kicked ass,

While my granny waits for mass

Tic, tock, tic, tock

No not the app you Gen Z ,

The time that we wait upon to be set free,

Wallet, keys, sanitiser, gloves

Don’t forget the mask my love,

We have one task,

So all I’ll ask is to,

Please wear a mask.

 

Untitled

 

Why does life treat me like this?

All the expectations and my need to exist.

I need a new beginning away from this old town.

Right now my life is burning down.

I want to write my own story

and not have it written for me.

There’s affects to covid that nobody explains.

But the loneliness I feel rushing through my veins.

That’s the one that hurts the most.

Can it just be over

 

They Say

 

They say it’s our best years,

But all I feel is tears,

Not being able to see my friends,

Ya that’s really pushing me to my wit’s end,

Pass your exams that determine the rest of your life,

When you’re not even in school,

Ya Taoiseach that’s really cool.

Putting pressure on students over something they can’t control,

Definitely living our best lives.

 

Untitled

 

Next to you I was protected, like a bird from the rain

Next to you I was safe and never in pain

You took me where fireworks are constant

But today you imply that I’m not important

The feeling, it came from within

Now I sit and wonder why did we ever begin

 

Masculinity Intact

 

A boy who wears a dress

He’s told he’s gay

And that his masculinity is less

He runs afraid,

The judgement, the hate

It’s too much for a boy

He only wants to inspire and impress

Maybe one day a boy will wear a dress

And not run afraid

His masculinity intact

 

2020

 

2020, a year of bad deeds,

Firstly bushfires, and then a deadly disease,

That was thought to be gone by 2021,

But it’s still here and a lot of us are gone,

So much pressure, waiting for a cure,

We have some time, but we need a lot more,

Today we all sit inside waiting to be let out,

All we can do is stay calm, and not scream or shout

 

“Boys will be Boys”

 

I stare at the page, but don’t read the words

I don’t feel like trying or have a place in this world

I’m told to smile more and sit up straight

But what is there to smile about when I never feel safe

“Boys will be boys” I’m sick of hearing it

I wish I had an excuse like that but there isn’t for women

 

Teenage Mental Health

 

They say school is the best

Forgetting about the stress

And anxiety and depression

And the aggression of obsession

Of wanting to live a perfect life

Which puts you in strife

And you feel lonely

But you try to think it’s not only

You who’s feeling this way

Who wants it all to go away

 

Life of a Teenager

 

Coca Cola becomes coke

Lollipops turn into cigarettes

Race issues were about who ran the fastest

School days are long

Questioning do we belong?

She’s popular and he’s a nobody

Clever isn’t cool

Being controlled, being used

So much pressure from the past,

Too much stress from the future.

 

Drip Drip Drip

 

Drip drip drip drop, to your heart’s content.

 

Drips of red, drips of crimson into your cup.

 

Drink up, drink up to your heart’s content.

 

Draining out, plop plop plip, out comes your heart’s content.

 

Drill a hole, fill up a barrel, look at all your heart’s content.

 

Drink up, drink up to your heart’s content.

 

Don’t worry, Don’t worry I’m not in a hurry.

 

Sit back, relax, enjoy this to your heart’s content.

 

Drained and emptied is your heart’s content.

 

Time for me to enjoy your heart’s content

 

A World not Made for You

 

“Can I walk home alone?” said a young girl to her mother

She replied “I’m sorry sweetheart, not at night and not without your brother”

You shouldn’t have to feel so scared in a world not made for you

Surrounded by these men who really do not have a clue.

Everyone has an opinion but please don’t say a word

Don’t share your thoughts about the names that you have never heard

 

Covid-19

 

No one is keen,

About Covid 19.

People are crying,

People are dying.

Stay at home,

And do not roam.

From today,

Let’s go the right way.

 

For the Soul

 

They say stress isn’t good for the soul

But it’ll be grand after a stroll

They have no idea what their talking about though

Think they know best but it’s a load of bull

So we sit and stare at books and screens

To determine our life at just 15.

 

Covid-19

 

COVID-19 started when I was just 15,

Now at home alone nothing to do

Waiting and wondering when I can leave,

I miss my friends and the good times we had,

Only realising now how much I want that time to last.

 

Please

 

People are dying, people are crying

The world is bleeding and people aren’t hearing

Corona is changing the world that we know

So please please please stay in doors

 

Coronavirus

 

Coronavirus is mean

Dirty unpleasant and unclean

Taking everybody by suprise

The death tole is on the rise

 

Virus here Virus there

Virus everywhere

With nothing to do and nowhere to go

This lockdown goes so slow

 

Coranavirus is mean

Dirty unpleasant and unclean

Hopefully it will go away

But its longer it stays.

 

Sixteen Years

 

Should be going out to discos

Sneaking out at midnight

Meeting up with friends.

But living in the country

Not a soul all around me

Friends to far to turn to

Can be lonely as hell

At times

 

Untitled

 

Eyes like daggers that cut deep,

Skin so soft everyone around her will weep,

Hair so soft, soft silk is envious,

To everyone it should seem obvious,

Beauty so beyond this world it hurts,

I’m designed to be her, like hertz,

Only thing that can hold her back,

Is her own mind as all fades to black.

 

Every Day

 

Every day we wake up and follow the “routine” that school has set us.

We spend 2 hours on a bus to travel to and from the prison of education

travel down the path to have to wait a half an hour for the torture to begin.

We heard into the halls the second the bell rings to either go or away from class.

To get away from any thoughts of gong back into the classroom

We sit on the bench and reminisce about before we had to wear masks.

We go outside to feel the air on our face a different kind of air than in the school.

its air that is free and air that we can laugh and have fun in.

But then that feeling hits you, the feeling you get when the hustle and bustle starts again in the halls, When the 5 minute warning bell goes off to remind us that our freedom is nearly over.

That bell is the damper of all moods unless it’s the bell to go home.

 

A Man’s World

 

They say its a man’s world,

But what is a man’s world?

A world where grown men will treat you like a kid until they want you in bed,

A world where you get called a slut while they force you to go to bed

A world where when you tell your truth you get told “well that’s not what he said”,

A world where a 12 year old girl is forced to be wed.

A mans world is a world designed for men,

Its a world where women and girls can’t leave the house alone without the fear of ending up dead.

 

Enough

 

They call us the most advanced generation,

But it feels like a mass degeneration.

Too much pressure to fit into society’s normalities

That we become sabotaged, sacked and scarred society finalities.

Enough.

 

We shout about how we’re stressed,

But then become more oppressed.

They tell us “go out and walk”

But really we just need to talk.

Enough.

 

At times, we feel like giving up,

Too many times we’re told to shut the ____ up”

It isn’t fair,

I don’t care,

I haven’t washed my hair,

There’s not much more that I can bare.

Enough.

 

Enough is enough,

These times are tough,

I’ll be honest, I’m feeling rough.

I can no longer deal with this stuff.

Sit down and end a life.

Enough.

 

Farm

 

In the distance, I see every cow

And I see my father plough

The birds are singing, flowers are blooming

A new season is looming

And I think to myself that a farm

Has a certain charm.

 

Untitled

 

Poems can be hard to write,

To some the challenge may excite.

But for me it’s exactly that,

As I scream at the paper like a screeching cat.

 

As I google what words rhyme with every word,

But its one thing that never occurred.

I that maybe it’s just not for me,

And with that I think we can all agree.

 

Untitled

 

Grass withers

Trees shiver

The cows go in for winter

Water fodder shelter

Protect each other

From the bitter winter glare

But low winter sun brightens our day

For the summer to come

We look forward

 

Untitled

 

He treats people with kindness

He creates a safe space for me a big fan

He fills us with happiness

Deservedly famous is this man

It’s more than the music

He has no time for drama or fuss

In a world that can be so toxic

Harry Styles is there for us

 

Football

 

Football, it takes the life out of you. One day you love it, one day you hate it.

 

The best thing to watch in your spare time, until the ball is in your own net.

Devastated, the cup is theirs, suddenly you have lost your bet.

 

We go again, let’s go for the next one, our squad is capable,

 

But as the years pass by, there are no trophies on the table.

 

But our players are flashy, they cause other teams to blur,

 

Yet we have won nothing, its Tottenham Hotspur

 

Disco Nights

 

Disco nights

Make up done, tan on

White socks, short skirt

Tunes blaring, friends gone

Wanting chips, feet hurt

Lashes off, freezing cold

Fathers here, ‘have you been bold’

 

Juice WRLD

 

An American rapper from Chicago, Illinois

His real name, Jarad Anthony Higgins

His biggest song is Lucid Dreams

He wrote it in just 15 minutes

He had so much talent

Unfortunately, he died young

At 21 more specifically

RIP Juice, we’re always thinking of you

 

A Young Lady

 

There was a young lady from Birr

Who loved to go out wearing fur

Enraged and offended,

The vegans descended

The catastrophe caused quite a stir.

 

Cheese

 

Cheese, cheese and all the other necessities,

Needs and wants and wants and needs,

Get mixed up in this modern day society,

Everyone wanting the newest things,

Flashy cars and designer jeans,

When I’ll just settle for a slice of cheddar cheese.

 

Walking

 

As I walk into class,

And sit on my ass,

I sit in despair,

And hope for fresh air,

 

I ask for a walk,

But no, we have to talk,

about poetry because its all we do,

Oh God how i’d love to move,

 

We don’t like it,

Because we have to sit,

And write our poems,

In our makeshift domes,

 

The poems that we read,

Are boring we weep,

For a walk is better

Than poems.

 

Untitled

 

I’m Alex and I like to fight,

I had an opponent who liked to bite,

I got in the ring,

She thought she was the king,

But an upper cut ended her night!

 

Ma Said So

 

School, why do we go?

I dunno because ma said so.

We come every week dragging our feet

Looking for friends we ve come to meet

Then the classes start

Why did we do? Another load of fart.

I didn’t understand a bit from end to start.

We re sent home bags full of books

Another history lesson on the worlds crooks

Why do I care truth is I dont

So why do I do it I really dont know

It’s probably because ma said so

 

Happy Gilmore

 

Shooter Mcgavin got too cocky,

Beaten by a man who just wanted to play hockey.

Happy Gilmore made him look like a fool, shooter Mcgavin is a tool

 

Harry

 

I like harry styles

He is very nice

He has great hair

 

Hocus Pocus

 

Ty is pointless

My future is now hopeless

Being unable to study

Unable to focus.

Hocus pocus