Paradox
Your soul cannot be bound
To the three dimensional beings
On this Earth.
For anything can become
Your physical reality.
Stepping out of a
Predetermined life.
Finding the edge of the unknown
And entering the void.
You are, after all, the sculptor of your own reality.
You in your own world,
A world of exploration, a world of artistic and creative absorption of all things existential.
Thinking about the underlying meaning of all things in existence.
In the creation of your own metaphysical reality,
You indulge within the scepticism of a conscious idealistic leader of all humanity.
Every thought a step further away from reality.
So you isolate your eggshell mind, from the harsh expectations of normality,
That exists just outside your window.
Anon
Mental Health Awareness
“You look tired!”
“Don’t you ever sleep?”
They hear these words so much now
They can nearly weep
Up all night, tossing in their bed,
Attempting to fight the demons in their head,
But no, they just smile
And say they only slept for a little while.
What else can they say?
It’s not a lie.
But then again, it’s not the truth, I sigh.
They can’t drown their demons as demons can swim,
The chances of some winning are very slim.
They think “I’m never good enough.
I never will be, I just want to lie down and let the demons take over me”
“We can’t drown them. Neither can we burn.
You see that will kill us. They are us. And all we want is to be free.”
Anon
Untitled
Friendship, sweet repose of the soul,
Twilight charming hearts,
Why in the eyes of a woman
Do you have more tender languor?
Your nature is the same though! In the heart she donated
It’s not the woman we love anymore,
And love has lost its name.
But like pure ice cream,
The pencil is coloured better.
The feeling that replaces him is more visible in two beautiful eyes.
In an argentine stamp of woman, he has more tender accents:
The chaste pleasure of the soul becomes
Almost a pleasure of the senses.
From the man, the male tenderness
Is the support of a nervous arm
But yours is a caress who shivers in the hair.
Oh! Leave me, you whom I adore
The sweetest names in turn,
O women, still deceive me
To the similarities of love!
Gentle or severe, tender or severe,
Friendship was my first good:
Whatever hand squeezes me,
It’s a heart that responds to mine.
No, never does my hand push back
This symbol of a feeling;
But when the hand is softer,
I tighten it more tenderly.
Sixtine
Follow my Dreams
I prove everyone wrong
I get to be me
I control where I am going
I choose who I want to surround myself with
And the things that I learn
Are worth knowing
I choose to be happy
I believe what I want
Sadness and stress
Are missing the point
You can’t and you won’t
Get the better of me
Nobody tells me who I can be
You can make me feel stupid
If that’s how it seems
I shall leave you for dust
As I follow my dreams
Laoise Hennessy
An Inside World
It BURNS like a blister
It hurts when I breathe
The light that shines
Has gone out
The world full of joy
Has lifted its mask
I want to sing
But there’s no one about
Loneliness is like a shadow in the dark halls
But at the end there is hopefulness
After all these years I’ve finally came out with what I had to say
With what I had hidden for years
Rianna Butler
Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover
You see me every day, you pass me in the halls
So many things are said inside these walls
Some may be true, but the truth can be twisted
Outcomes can be bad, a lot can be listed
I may look good, but I can be bad
I may look happy, but I may be sad
I may seem quiet, but I have a lot to say
You never know what people deal with every day
So do me a favour try and be strong
Pass yourself with people, it doesn’t take too long
Because feelings are precious they can be hurt
Not everyone sees it because they’re not alert
Jane Quigley
Wonder
We wonder
We show happiness
We smile as bright as the burnished sun
We embrace our humour through a magical laugh that changes everyone
We find love and joy everywhere we go
We see the present and not the future
Everywhere I look people are themselves, all so different from inside to out
Life lives and life dies, but life looks different through everyone’s eyes
So live your own version of life to the greatest
As every moment counts and the best things are not to be seen
Vanessa Lanigan
#Metoo
Women are seen as objects, only for the use of others
Comments are passed without a second thought.
Women are looked down upon simply for the clothes they wear
Crimes are committed but victims are ignored and told that ‘they were asking for it’
We’re not taken seriously due to false accusations.
We begin to march and demand for change.
We stand together and demand equality between everyone
We say ‘me too’
Kayleigh O’Connor
Silence
No one opened up
The doors were locked
Things began to turn south,
Being different was the same
As being told you were wrong
Words turned to dust in your mouth
The rates of depression and suicide attempts rose,
People learnt to talk and not be ashamed,
Making a difference began,
Views of people changed.
Sontae Jackson
Our Home
From the time I was small, to here, to now.
The memories always in my mind,
Every time we baked, laughed, cried
I miss them.
I want them back
Am I a bad person?
I wish you were here.
I need you here.
Please come home?
Molly Dunne
The System
You become a different person
Pressured to drink, smoke or take drugs
You’re a goodie goodie if you indulge
Our problems swept under the rugs
You are named a druggie you are name a slut
Your worst nightmare
You are forced to be stuck in a rut
Surrounded by the fakest
It used to feel like home
Pressure you
Thinking you’re all on your own
How will we ever reach our potential
The problem’s the system
And the system is mental
Emma Dunne
One Cold Morning
One cold morning I stared out the window
At the white blanket covering the fields
I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and
I felt a chill roll up my back
I pulled the blankets over my head
I walked outside to hear the sound of the wet crunching sound
And watch the snowflakes fall to the ground
And disappear with time
Eimear Smith
“Our Unforgiving World”
Women are a macho game
No one talks, because talk is shame
People are abused, hurt and insulted
Mentally sick and so unadjusted
Colour, love and gender is a problem
From Kilkenny to Cork and Limerick to Dublin
This is the society we live in
Sadly not many can
It’s because of our world
Defined by greed
The problem created by man
Chloe Glennon
This is Where
They judge us for being different
They make fun of us and call us ugly
We hide away from the world
We say we’re fine but mean the opposite
We laugh just to make them happy
Anon
Stuck
They’re stuck in a pit
They cannot climb out
They can’t see the world
Because they’re dependent on it
They don’t see the light because
They don’t open their eyes
They walked down the wrong path
That they made out of lies
But it doesn’t take effort
To find one another
If you believe that there’s a way out
There’s a fire in your chest explodes when try
And that is what hope is about
Hannah Nouvion
Emotions
Love is like white little doves surrounded by petals on a bright summer’s day
Depression is a shadow that haunts you but will not always daunt you
Jealously is like an emerald, green with envy
Anger is something that burns like fire sometimes burning away the good
Fear is just a concept, to strike hurt in our melancholy hearts
All these feelings all these words
Mean nothing other than being absurd
Something the brain makes up to keep us alive
To keep us from pain or to drive us insane
Aoibhe Mac Domhnaill
Perfect?
Stress is controlled by alcohol and smoking
Where a perfect life is a dream
People walking down the street are hiding from reality
Oh life is a perfect scream
Women are toys
Boys will be boys
Hearts are easily broken
School causes stress, and teachers give out
But none of it is ever spoken
Leanne Simpson
Rumours
You hear it and assume it’s true
You pass on the secret that was told to you
Now these lies are flying around
And your cries can even block out the sound
People think they know it all
They pick you up to let you fall
And when the rumours never stop
You’re wiping your tears up with a mop
People hurt you then move on
And you’re left to pick up the pieces when they are gone
It may never be your time to glow
But when it is by god you’ll know
Mollie Lawlor
A World
In a world where bad behaviour online to others
Is rewarded, in a generation
Where men can be polyamorous and are praised for it
But when women do it there called sluts,
We’re in a generation where women
Still aren’t believed and me-too movement
Is just seen as another way for women to complain
In a world where justice isn’t served
For people of sexual assault instead
They’re verbally abused with insults like slut, liar and are bullied
In world where everybody must be the same
And follow society’s rules of a perfect person
We’re still in generation where people aren’t treated equally
And the school just writes them off, another one lost
And education is failing massively
And no one’s listening to you
But you’re screaming out for help
In world where mental health isn’t talked about enough
And where boys are told to be strong and don’t cry
And women are told stay at home
In world where were told all 6 years of our education depends on one exam
But that’s just a piece of paper
It doesn’t mean you actually know what’s going on
Or understand it’s just means you can memorize things pretty good
In a generation where people don’t look up
And have real life connections
Where machines are replacing people
This world is getting pretty cold
Kaitlin Gough
Thorns
A rose is still beautiful
With its thorns
The devil is still evil
Without his horns
A face is still magical
Without its wings
Cuz happiness grows
Where sorrow sinks
I’m still beautiful
With my flaws
And I shall not sink
By my minds claws
Guste Jakubauskaite
Equality
In our world we discriminate
People that we learn to hate
There’s no such thing as equality
When people act with frivolity
Think of others, not yourself
Where books are lying on the shelf
And people decide to go and judge
Whilst others hold onto a grudge
Think of what you need and not what you want
There is no need to go and haunt
People that are so afraid
Have to go and hide in the shade
Molly Fitzpatrick
Eyes Closed
Eyes closed, I smiled.
Imagined a full moon hanging low in the sky,
Looking like a shiny pearl button,
On a dandy comfortable skirt.
I wondered…
When the world had changed
And wished…
We could go back to when life was simple
Those times ago called summer,
When hope
Was more than just a word…
Jessica Cummins
Blue
Blue will never leave you
Tis the colour of the sky
It’s a very bright hue
Which will never die
Some boys come and go
There’s always heartbreak
They always let you down
It’s not the end of the world for heaven’s sake
They act like they love you
They take your trust, break it
So stay around the better guys
And stay away from that crap
People will always tease you
Don’t let it get to your head
It will go away
Don’t let it leave you dead
Don’t let a boy hold your life
Cannot trust them one bit
Don’t tell them your darkest secrets
No name will ever fit
It’s my favourite colour
And my boyfriends too
We would see each other more often
If the world wasn’t so cruel
His hands were so warm
Like the midsummer night
When he left it was bitter cold
Which was a fright
Maybe we are blue
Every one may hate you
But always remember
The colour blue will always be there for you
Kelly Hosey
Untitled
They say I don’t understand
I don’t know what it’s like
Well they are wrong
It’s been so long
You are gone
And as each day dawns
You are the bronze
I wish to see
Anon
Plastic Girls
Plastic girls fake it
They shake it to make it
They judge you for being
Your beautiful self
Different, unique
It’s not just what you speak
It’s the things that you do
That make beautiful you
Sophie Burke Malone
Life
All of the emotions you tried to hide
Those sleepless nights
The feelings you keep
Bottled up inside
The future, the past
Spent thinking in circles
Trying to overcome hurdles
Music roaring
People ignoring
Thinking about what life could be like
Ciara Treacy
A World…
A world where you have to be pretty
To be popular or cool.
You are judged on your grades
Or the way you speak.
Education pressures you
And stresses you out,
To the point where you can’t deal with it anymore.
You start to get depressed
And have anxiety.
Teachers try to make you a better version of yourself,
But what if you don’t want that
An example of
A world where not everyone is happy.
Leona Lanigan
It Screams
It screams in your ear
It runs through your veins
Like a child on Christmas morning
It is funny yet sad
A version of mad
That springs from the dark
Without warning
It blooms in your heart
Like a version of art
Sarah Doheny
This is Where
This is where I leave you
This is where the fun begins
This is where we all came from
This is where I leave you book
This is where the fun ends
This is where I leave go
This is where I stand
This is where I stay
Josephine McCarthy
Pressure
Summer has ended
School has begun
No more lying on the grass and bathing in the sun
Teachers talk about exams and tests
I think they should just leave us rest
We are only kids we don’t need this pressure
That’s for adults who despise pleasure
Leave us teach ourselves the things
That in the world we must overcome
But help us when we ask for it
So that’s when you know we’re desperate.
Aoife Power
Biting my Nails
I am biting my nails
Afraid of my shadow
With lipstick all over my face
I am laughing and smiling
And crying at once
I want to get out
Of this place
And go to my gym
Hang out on my phone
I found a stray cat
All on his own
The last one alive
And I say to myself
I’ll help him survive
Because we are all
On our own
And all a bit stray
So we have to reach out
At the end of the day
Mary Carthy
I Wish
I wish I could see you face
See your smile
Hear your laugh
Call your name
I wish I could have said
Good bye to you for one last time
Just to here you say
I love you always
Hollie Foley
Untitled
They are mysterious beings
They are there but not seen
They talk but aren’t heard
They are lonely there, on their own
In their own world with no one to love them
So they reach out and try and get our attention
Some push it away and ignore it
But they once were seen
Once were heard
Once loved and lived too
Ava Hennessy
Country Fields
I ran through fields and bogs beside my house
I remember seeing a small brown field mouse
Running through the grass
And stepping in glass
Seeing cows
While the sun was blazing
Climbing fences
And over ditches
I felt like I could run forever
Brianna Murphy
Go Back
When I start primary school
It was depressing
Like poison grass growing
Spiders crawling around the place
It looked like a mess
My height changed
I wish I could go back
To that height again
Leanne Altamimi
Walks
When Leah and I go for a walk,
We listen to music and also talk.
We talk about animals that are cute too,
Then hear a cow in the field go “moo”.
We sang along to “The Rattling Bog”,
And got followed by a golden retriever dog.
Going on walks with Leah is fun,
We could walk until the night’s begun.
Rachel Grogan
The Countryside
Rachel and I went on a walk
On an old broken country road,
We did much more than talk.
We looked at the cows in their herd
While the leaves fell like old dreams from the trees
We watched the sun go down
We listened to the little bees
Not missing the little town
Leah Ryan
Homework
When I started secondary school,
I thought all the teachers were cruel.
So much homework was being given to me,
I just wanted to go home and be free.
Hours and hours were spent studying,
And classes and classes of asking for less,
Rushing to get it all done before bed,
By now, our homework is a mess.
If just teachers realised how much homework they give,
We would have so much more time to go out and live!
Sarah Denny
A Dream
I have a dream
It starts with me telling you a short poem about myself
When I was young I had a dream
But it was stopped by a deafening scream
I looked up to find myself surrounded by people
With a man and his dog lying on the ground
And it was there that I found myself witnessing an attempted murder
I stared startled as a ghost
And the thing that scared me the most
Was the knife in my hand
The tears in my eyes
The demon within me
Sara Gleeson
Untitled
Her house still stands where it always has
Just now it is a little bit lonelier
No flowers at the door and not the same soft smile
Staring out the window as we drive in
When I was sick she would look after me
Dose me up on hot tea
I still have the teddy that she knitted for a jumper
One of the best dressed teddys I have.
Daily visits to the hospital
Became a regular thing
Flat 7up and grapes kept her happy
I didn’t really know what was going on
But i knew that everything was not okay
Orlaith O’Shea
The Death of Kurt Cobain 1994
Thought life was a dream but it was really a mess
After a few years you got real depressed
Put poison inside you to stop the pain
But nothing ever works does it Kurt Cobain
Inspired so many but it had to end
With the end of a shotgun pointed at your head,
The note was in the flower pot
Looked like a lie like two people had wrote it
So many were sad, they felt all alone
All you left behind was a suicide note
Elle O’Connell
Life
Happiness is a treasure
But it only reaches a certain measure
You’ve got goals to reach
And poems to preach
So dream big
You lazy pig
I know you live in a mansion
But that don’t mean you don’t need an expansion
Failure will be the key to success
So put ink on paper and you’ll progress
Sarah Cullen
Hopping Fences
I ran through fields beside my house
A small brown mouse
Running through grass
Stepping on glass
The cows grazing
The June sun is blazing
Climbing fences
Hopping over ditches
I felt like I could run forever
Brianna Murphy
Grandad
My earliest memories of my Grandad are faded like a mirror
In a bathroom after a hot steamy shower
The first visit to the hospital is worst
I just remember opening the door
And seeing the bright yellow sunflower
I looked down onto the bed
After a quick glance around the dull hospital room
He was pale, very pale
I didn’t understand what I was happening
I was only eight, I just knew he was sick
I dint know he was dying
I remember the funeral well
When the coffin came out my heart just fell
As they lowered him into the ground
The crying of my family was the only other sound
Victoria O’Brien
A Beauty
A beauty so beautiful,
A beauty so bright,
A beauty that lights up the darkest of nights,
A beauty that makes you feel at ease,
A beauty that helps you when you’re begging at your knees,
A beauty that fills you full with joy,
A beauty that helps every girl and boy,
A beauty that feels like music to your ears,
A beauty that heals all those fallen tears,
A beauty that came from up above,
A beauty like those white elegant doves,
A beauty that’s guided me for all my life,
A beauty that helped me put down that knife,
A beauty that came to me and not them,
A beauty of an angel,
Amen.
Aoibhe Mac Domhnaill
Summer
Sizzling sun, grass burning
Underneath the sun not a care in the world
Memories being made
Mam topping up sun cream
Eating ice-cream
Running away from the cold water
Anna Comerford
Back to School
The leaves are turning brown
The sun sleeps longer every day
The school bus beeps at the gate
You wave summer day’s good bye
What a bummer back to school
Waking up you feels like it is April fools
When your alarms go off at 6:45
Orlaith O’Shea
What a Year
August 2018 what a year
The first time since 1973
He has been hiding from us
They beat the cats
Sure would you ever believe that
The beat the mighty cats
They beat Galway by a point
What a match
Glad to have him back since 1973
Would you believe it took 45 years
But the mighty Limerick are back
Anna Mahony
Summer is Over
Summer is over
Fall is here
Back to school for a brand new year
Pack your things and on the bus we go
Make new friends and say hello
It’s time to put your head down and get to work
Reading writing and learning more
Counting numbers 1 2 3
So much to do learn and see
Get ready for a year of fun making new memories as we go
Eating, sleeping, it’s a brand new day
Let’s start all over again
With new adventures along the way.
Emer Barron
Absence
Your absence has gone through me like thread,
Through a needle,
Everything I do is stitched with its colour.
Nicole Lyons
My Life
Story of my life so far
When I was three I almost drowned in Mallorca hotel
When I was eight my gran aunt died and everyday i just cried
I’m scared of losing my friends
It will be hard to make amends
I started primary school when I was four
And I was terrified the day before
I’m scared of being alone
It’s like being in grave stone
But now I am happy and proud to be Abi
Abi Kearney
Shrek
Once upon a time.
I saw a man,
Covered in green,
His personality is not what it seems,
He’s tall and broad,
But he’s got no hair,
And he’s friends with a donkey whose heart is filled with despair,
He’s been on adventures big and small,
He rescued a princess from a tower so tall,
He befriended a dragon, he slayed a king,
And he owns a swamp filled with treasures and things,
The last time I saw this man, he put a smile on my face,
But now he could be anywhere, even outer space,
The one thing I know about this man,
Is that I am definitely his number one fan!
Alanah Einstein
Sometimes
Sometimes I can be crazy
Sometime I can be mad
Sometimes I’m like a butterfly
Sometimes I can be sad
I locked my dad in the bathroom once
I fought with the chickens outside
Sometimes I can be crazy alright
But I’m sound as a pound inside
Abby Walsh