St. Patrick’s Classical School, Navan, Co. Meath

We are Told

 

We are told to repress who we really are,

Just so we can protect the people who disagree from baring witness to our sin,

Imagine having to fight to protect your identity,

Equal rights shouldn’t be a luxury.

 

You’re afraid of what you don’t understand,

And you don’t want to understand,

If something is different, it’s a threat,

How our worldwide conspiracy is grand.

 

We take the time to celebrate our differences,

But we need permission two weeks in advance,

Punishing someone for who they are in itself is a sin,

As God is my witness, being gay is in.

 

Life

 

Life knows exactly how wrong it acts

It’s a shouting match

Be the loudest and you’ll be listened to

No matter how wrong you might be

You’ll be right to everybody

Keep quiet down there; we don’t want your opinion

Don’t worry, we know exactly what we’re doing

We’ll follow the louder man.

 

Privilege

 

I come from privilege

I come from fun, hate and jealousy.

With the whiteness of my skin comes the shine of my car

With the animals that are below me comes

The people that are above me

The dreamers and the succeeders that live among me

My shiny watch and my expensive phone comes the pain some could not know.

My misunderstanding family

And my dreams that live under the same roof

He is too cool

She is too caring

I am too great.

 

I Wake Up

 

I wake up,

I worry about work due,

I worry about me being lazy,

I come up with something to worry about when I can’t find anything.

 

Where do I get self-esteem?

Where do I get confidence?

There’s never one place,

For each of these complicated things?

 

I become scared to progress,

Scared to move forward

When I’m so anxious about the past,

When I remind myself about the things i’ve done wrong.

 

I can say 1 + 2 is 3,

And “when” is one of the 5 w’s

But I just can’t seem to get,

The act of talking to someone with confidence in what I say.

 

Souls Left Behind

 

Wind hits the window,

Its wet and miserable,

Always cold and frozen,

Rain falls by the dozen,

Always Dark clouds coming,

Would it ever warm up,

Feeling lost in a storm at sea,

Only waiting to capsize,

Sinking to the ocean floor,

Hope dying along with the fellow shipmates,

To remain with all the ones fallen before,

That get stuck under the pressure,

Bones in the ocean eroding away,

Turning to dust and washing away,

Just the souls left behind

 

Meath

 

Meath is my heartland

It’s full of happiness and joy

I love to speak my native tongue

And play Gaelic with the boys.

 

Surrounding me is fields and farms

And this is what I do

Tending to the farmer jobs

And shifting the cow poo.

 

A close-knit parish is what we are

We enjoy each other’s company

Neighbours houses side by side

Would often pop in for a cup of tea.

 

My place is amazing

And I’m proud of it

5k from Navan but in the country we be living it.

 

Life Today

 

I wake up five minutes before school starts

I switch off half way through

I think about life going back to normal

I think about being the hero in a football game again

I think about performing on stage again

About seeing family and friends

About living life outside my house and screens

I think about seeing a game in a stadium full of noise and atmosphere

All day thinking but not doing

I think this is no way to live life

But at least I’m alive to think

 

Untitled

 

When I saddle up the horses on a cold winters day,

The snow coming down in its small amounts,

We walk down the road with the clip clop of the horses shoves of the newly fallen snow,

Not a car to be seen or a person on a stroll,

We jump into the and take off galloping round and a round and a round,

Similar to the life were all living in,

All stuck in the loop where we wake up go to sometimes are meaningless jobs and go home and just to wake up the next morning to start the meaning less loop again,

When I arrive home, my tiered horse rests his tiered head on my shoulder,

I think to myself… Will any one understand the me the way this animal does?

 

Share

 

The top 1% have 99,

The rest have only 1,

They say that it’s okay,

I say “yeah, ok for some,”

But the money in their pocket,

Is the money from my mouth,

The companies of billionaires,

Is not the company I share,

The only thing they share,

Is the one that they can buy.

 

All the Pressures

 

Being a teenager is hard

All the pressures

The slagging

And the mam and dad

 

Pressuring me to get my work done

Telling me to grow up when they baby me

Also giving out when I’ve actually tried to do something

 

Threatening to send me away to another school if I don’t cop on and learn

Saying the teachers don’t make mistakes

It’s only me who is like this according to them

 

Playing sport is a get away from the whole teenage pressures

Yes it’s sport but I can express myself on the pitch

Playing fir club and county showing my skill

And my desire to work for my team

 

Friends for life are made in these years

They can be tough but we all loge are friends

You just can tell the ones who are going to be round for long

 

I Remember the Days When

 

I remember the days when,

I remember the days when we used to run and play not caring what other people say.

I remember the days when popularity was based on how fast you were

Instead of what drugs you prefer.

I remember the days when in the summer spending all day at the pitch,

Now they spend nights in a ditch,

Drink and smoking until they can’t breathe.

I miss the days when a new football is the only thing you would need

But now you have the whole world to please,

While other people chop down the trees

Now get down in your knees, and,

Pray.

Cause those days are gone

And only getting farther away.

 

Out the Window

 

When I look out the window,

I see dark clouds from above covering the bright blue sky that once was visible

But now there’s dark clouds and rain that makes it all so miserable.

The sun that once shined a week ago,

Now I’m trying to find the sun that just won’t show,

The clock starts ticking and there is still no sun,

I’m still young so I might as well have fun

 

The Lucky Ones

 

The rain is a lot colder these days,

While the influencers tan gets tanner

We are told to stay at home, not to socialize,

Not to play sports while people are off getting locked every weekend,

We get to go 5k,

We get to have zoom calls instead of training,

And we get to live our school life on a computer

Aren’t we the lucky ones

 

 

A Painful World

 

My pain is all the same

With all the strain I’ve been gaining

In my world it’s always raining

Every time I’ve felt I’m hit or been thrown in pit

My pain will go on and can never be dismissed

As I have tried to look for help

But it always ends up hurts myself

With a memory that i found of my brother still being around

Each day without him

Always feel like a day of sins

All of this is strain filled

In this world that’s painful

 

 

Here

 

Here is my room

Is where I will stay

All through lockdown

All through the day

I hate online school

It makes me feel sick

I have better things to be doing

For example getting fit

I’d rather be playing football

It’s my favourite thing to do

I can’t wait to get out of lockdown

So we can all go back to being who we are

And doing what we normally do

 

Explore

 

I wonder what is beyond this Earth

I hate being down on this dirt.

Could there be life a far far away

Or are we just the ones left a stray.

 

Explore the galaxy us humans should do

Technology will help us get there soon.

Who will be the one to hit Earth with struck

Reach for the stars and you might get some luck.

 

The Hamster

 

Whose hamster is that? I think I know.

Its owner is quite happy though.

Full of joy like a vivid rainbow,

I watch him laugh. I cry hello.

 

He gives his hamster a shake,

And laughs until her belly aches.

The only other sound’s the break,

Of distant waves and birds awake.

 

The hamster is cute, exciting and deep,

But he has promises to keep,

After cake and lots of sleep.

Sweet dreams come to him cheap.

 

He rises from his gentle bed,

With thoughts of kittens in his head,

He eats his jam with lots of bread.

Ready for the day ahead.

 

Lockdown

 

Lockdown is endless walks with the dog

Lockdown is hours staring pointlessly into a screen

Lockdown is missing family

Lockdown is having a feeling of emptiness inside

Lockdown is looking back at times gone by and giving anything to go back even for a day

Lockdown is depressing

 

We

 

We put the food on your table,

We work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,

We get up at the crack of dawn,

We draw silage into the darkness,

We milk cows and feed calves,

We keep the supermarket shelves full,

We do all this for the love of it,

Because we are farmers

 

Loyalty

 

I’ve rather have loyalty that love because love really don’t mean crap

See love is just a feeling you, could love somebody and still stab them in the back

It don’t take much to love, you could love somebody just by being attached

Loyalty is an action; you could love or hate me but still have my back

 

Football

 

All day you can be tired,

Until you get out on the field,

You will suddenly become inspired,

As if you have been healed,

 

The ball becomes the dancer,

Who dances to the tune,

That you play so often,

From morning to noon,

 

And all the time you play,

Is not just for fun,

But to get on the highway,

Towards the golden sun.

 

Love

 

Love is blind

It’s really hard to find

Everyday that I grind

I fail to reach my right mind

Love is drum

It’s hard to overcome

 

The Strange Day

 

I went outside and saw the sun

Then I went inside and got a bun.

I put a burger on the grill

And underneath I found a dollar bill.

 

I got in my car and went for a spin

I then got the tires stuck on a pin.

I went to the garage and got it fixed.

But soon after the oil and water mixed.

 

The mechanic didn’t notice and slipped

And I accidentally had my shirt ripped.

I brought my car back home.

I went inside and got it changed.

 

I went for a jog and got mugged.

A fly soon came and I was bugged.

I didn’t see a branch and tripped.

And once again my shirt ripped.

 

That’s the end and it was a hectic day.

Hopefully the sun will shine in May.

 

A Rock and a Stone

 

In one hand I have a rock

In the other I have a stone

And to your shock

And although you may moan

A rock and a stone are brothers

I’ll tell you why

There’s no need to cry no need to be shy

A rock and stone are like a man and a boy

They will both be the same one day

They will both bring joy

So when you look at a rock and a stone

Dont look for weaknesses just enjoy

 

We Are

 

We are born into the life

Of early morn late nights

Tending animals with fear

And delight.

To put food on the table

And for those in the stable

Rain hail or shine we plough on through

The highs and lows

Once the river flows

The flower grows

We are the workers the backbone the armour

We are the farmers

 

The Game

 

When it’s floated in high

My marker will sigh

A grin will come across my face

A grin of confidence, he knows his place

My arms will shoot up my legs to follow

And into the air I soar, more more and more

And when I’ve plucked it and it’s in my basket I’ll roar

And all this time to full back stayed rooted

He’d given up and was ready to be booted

He heard his manager who tooted and tooted

And worst off all his home supporters were muted

 

When the Sun is Down

 

When the sun is down at the end of the day

When stars are lit and the moon is bright grey

I’ll look up and stare and dream and gaze

And I’ll think

How am I going to amaze

Or will I just sit around and laze

When the sun is down at the end of the day

When stars are lit and the moon is bright grey

All I think of is one day maybe one day

 

Sitting at Home

 

Sitting at home most of the time

Waiting for this Covid to pass by.

Miss footy and being on the team,

Go out most days and play on the green

Miss the chats with the lads

All this stuff would make you go mad.

Soon we will be back thanks be to god

I might be able to get rid of me dad bod

 

Untitled

 

In times like these you can sometimes feel trapped,

Sitting on the computer all day going tap, tap, tap,

There are no sports to play,

And nothing to do,

Maybe I’ll go online and buy me some shoes,

Your friends are online that’s all you can do,

You can’t meet them and greet them,

Sitting at home in your boxed shaped room,

At 1 am saying I’ll go to bed soon.

 

The Loop

 

The morning starts in a nice snug bed

Until the awareness of breathless day ahead

Remembering online school starts today.

The teacher talks to lose my focus,

The homework comes in like piles of files brining in boredom

And pain to eat sleep school repeat until the weekend

Were my mind is mine and not another person’s property

Until the end of Sunday

Remembering the feeling of loop to repeat itself for another week.

 

My Days

 

This is where I spend my days now

On the farm looking after the cows

With no more sports

And just online school

Farming is the only activity I have left

No more parties

Or going out

Just the same thing day in and day out

 

Once

 

Once there was a lad who was a little bit mad and he was known as Mikey.

He thought he was funny; he was only looking for money, so I had to have a little chat.

“You need to stop I’ll give you a chop. Then it was time for my cat.

She gave him a scratch; it was a good little match, until the dog came into play.

He barked and barked, the cat was marked so I hit Mikey.

That’s the end, Mikey was on the mend, so I gave him a lend of my first aid kit

 

I Sit

 

I sit in my room with raging anger

With the stress of everything building up around me

I have a lot of pressure on my back

It is starting to show me that I’m beginning to lack.

I wish I could turn back the time where life was like a dime

Happy and free without a worry in the world

But life hit me so hard like spicy Indian curry

 

Tuesday Morning

 

Tuesday morning is an absolute bore,

Just the site of zoom makes my eyelids sore,

The searing colours of Schoolwise pixels,

Oh how I despise their leering presence,

I sit here writing pretentiously,

In a forum for all the world to see,

My subject is the bore of the Tuesday morn’

An object of my lore, riddling of corn.

And so I conclude my futile rambling,

Its just an interlude of fumbling,

As the class go bumbling on,

To the next of the school’s cons.

 

The Same

 

Every days the same

I wake up every morning knowing todays gonna be the same

And I know that only Covid is to blame

I go into online class and I am bored already

And it just makes me sad because

I know I have nothing to look forward to after school

I used to have sports but now that’s gone

So now, I just sit at home all day

Not knowing any other way

 

Waiting

 

When I’m waiting in the line

I just have one thought in mind

Butter or mayo? Spicy or plain?

In my head these thoughts flounder

Maybe I’ll get a quarter pounder

 

My TY

 

My ty is boring

Its being ruined by a pandemic

And I cant stand it

School is online

Sport is cancelled

I just want to be a teenager

And meet girls and go on the sesh

But I can’t even see my friends

Or even go out to her ends

 

Everywhere

 

Everywhere I go I hear corona.

I’m sick of corona.

I love the drink corona

But I feel like corona is killing me

And I don’t even have it.

I feel like I am in a tunnel that just won’t end.

Hopefully I can get out soon.