Poetry

I love going down to my granny’s cottage

 

On a little farm

 

In a little town

 

In Wicklow.

 

2 weeks every summer

 

Games outside with my 15 younger cousins

 

Books in my grandad’s big armchair.

 

My granny’s soda bread

 

Mugs

 

And mugs of hot tea.

 

I love the time I spend there.

 

Tara

 

Her little eyes sparkle

 

Her toothy and toothless smile twinkles

 

I have never seen a happier thing

 

She is so chirpy

 

She hops around like a little bird

 

When she leaps on my back

 

With her chubby wrists around my neck

 

I don’t mind the weight

 

It’s’ a small price to pay for her giggles

 

But when she cries

 

I want to cry

 

When they call her names

 

I want to yell at them

 

I want her to stay little, young and happy

 

Forever.

 

She is bliss now.

 

A hidden hand of warmth

 

that transforms

 

the everyday is glowing

 

within each of us,

 

a burning celestial fire

 

that overwhelms all the senses.

 

The eyes become blinded

 

crinkle up in awe

 

the skin tingles

 

the sudden apprehension of exposure.

 

A reminder of sunset summers

 

salted sand, breathing life

 

into all beings

 

revealing their inner light

 

the magic that is already within us,

 

our silent witness

 

shunned by the clouded fog.

 

Each night the glow is chased away

 

by a silver shadow,

 

replacing the only greater light.

 

A star is ever present yet struggles to be seen,

 

like the child within all of us.

 

Bed

 

You are there for me in my darkest hours

 

To comfort me at night.

 

You hold me close

 

keep me warm when tiredness overcomes me.

 

When I am happy you are the

 

Springs that keep me jumping up and down

 

And when I’m angry you take my punches.

 

Through sad times you watch me cry

 

And dry my tears for me.

 

You make me live the wildest dreams

 

Each night

 

And in my nightmares you protect me,

 

Comfort me, from the things which scare me most.

 

The Black and Ivory Keys

 

When I need to relax

 

I escape to a fantasy world

 

When I play the black and ivory keys

 

I sit down powerfully and with poise, in my seat

 

I create a scene in my mind

 

As I touch the black and ivory keyes

 

The scene is created by the sound of music

 

Filling the depths of my ears

 

There’s a middle-aged woman

 

Dancing gracefully in her victorian ball gown

 

She dances and covers every inch of the dancefloor, To the sound of a russian waltz

 

She twirls and twirls as she feels the music inside her

 

The waltz is empowering with long expressive melodies

 

And changes in key and tonality throughout the piece.

 

The waltz ends and the lady takes a bow,

 

In front of her guests.

 

Now, I’m no longer performing the russian waltz

 

On the grand yamaha piano, in the grand hall.

 

I’m sitting on my pouffe in my living room,

 

Retreating back to reality.

 

I wait again for the next moment, to

 

Explore another world,

 

With the black and ivory keys.

 

Sitting here just the two of us, talking about it all

 

We time-travelled in a way

 

Talking about the memories from summer,

 

the people who meant

 

Something to us now

 

but who mightn’t in two months time.

 

Time.

 

It’s pretty incredible, unstoppable, powerful

 

It’s everything.

 

It’s how we live, we depend on it

 

You can never get it back

 

Something in your life could be so different right now

 

If you changed one thing about a time in the past.

 

I often think about this.

 

Timing is everything.

 

Bed, Bed, where would I be without you?

 

You are my favourite hello but my hardest goodbye You are always there for when I need you, in good times and in bad

 

You are my escape

 

My place of relaxation and rest

 

You give me energy and positivity

 

in times of anxiety or loneliness.

 

Once I wake up it’s you who gives me a fresh start.

 

You are always there

 

And there’s nothing more like the classic saying

 

There’s no place like your own bed.

 

Just feeling the movement

 

Through my bones.

 

Nothing to distract me

 

Just get round those cones.

 

The wind pushing past me

 

The pain in my knee.

 

Nothing will keep me

 

As long as i’m free.

 

Keep pushing forward

 

There’s no need to stop.

 

Everything’s perfect

 

When you reach that spot.

 

Nothing to stop me, nobody, none.

 

Keep going forward, because you love to run.

 

This short story starts off like any old boring high-school story based on a teenage girl and her life. But this story tells the day that changed a lot of things for a girl called Lucy.

 

It starts off with just a normal day at school. Lucy has an irish test so is slightly freaking out because she hasn’t studied. Then going to lunch with her friends, but there’s a bit of tension between them because of what happened at the weekend. Things are a bit awkward but lunch is nearly over and there’s only three more classes until they get to go home.

 

Lucy has music that night and always brings her best friend Rebecca, but tonight that’s going to be awkward. Rebecca gets in the car and there’s silence. Things are worse than expected. They sit through music and finally by the end they being to talk. Lucy says she needs to tell her something about what she tried to explain at the weekend. Rebecca flips, she is in complete denial, she doesn’t want to know. Now it’s up to Lucy, does she tell her the whole truth, everything, even though she knows it will crush Rebecca?

 

She panics and decides that if it was her she’d like to know. She explains to Rebecca that she saw Rebecca’s parents fighting and her dad slapped her mam across the face. This she already knew but Rebecca couldn’t believe it. Now was the hard part, she explained how the other day she saw Rebecca’s mam with another man, together. And overheard them speaking of how they must keep it a secret from her dad. Rebecca just sat there. Emotionless. Then within seconds, lashed out at Lucy screaming. Then screaming crying, then just floods of tears. She knew then at this moment that it was the right thing to do, she hopes she needed to know. Hours later, after the crying had stopped and she spoke for the first time since she stopped screaming, she thanked her. Lucy just had to weigh out both of the consequences at each scenario and went with her gut feeling, that either way there would be pain, but at least tell the truth to release some of that pain.

 

Do you remember the creaky wooden chairs

 

The grating of chalk on a blackboard

 

As we chewed crayons

 

And gargled our ABCs in our mouths

 

Seeing how they would taste.

 

Our consonants sounding out

 

Like a tape in reverse

 

Until that moment of clarity

 

“LMNOP”

 

Have you ever experienced

 

That perfect mess of sounds

 

That just make sense together?

 

I look around at our table

 

As Lily licks her plate.

 

An insurance against table manners

 

The dog nips at our feet.

 

Jenny belts out her musical number

 

And Grandad turns off his hearing aids

 

Relishing in the luxuries of his deafness.

 

And I can’t help but love

 

This jumbled mess.

 

LMNOP

 

She gave me my blue eyes

 

My blonde hair too

 

She makes me laugh,

 

Even when I’m blue.

 

She makes us dinner,

 

That’s pretty good too

 

But she dances like a mam,

 

And that’s something I say with pride

 

Because her crappy dancing

 

Cracks me up every time.

 

Restore

 

I wake up at 08:36 am, as normal, i brushed my teeth and went downstairs where I saw my family gathered around the T.V. My mother was on the ground crying. In the 16 years I’ve been alive, I have never seen my mam cry. What has happened?

 

I sat down beside my Dad and read the writing on the screen. “Due to the over-population of women, this has to be done”. I ask my dad what this means. He remains silent. I can feel my heart pounding, what is happening?

 

Next thing know, i hear a smash of glass in my sitting room. I hear footsteps marching down the hall. Three men dressed in dark blue suits come in. They grab my mam. She is kicking and screaming. I then feel someone grab my arms, I am being carried out with her. I only see white. I can hear my Dad roaring. It is a sound of heartbreak. My mam and I are thrown into the blue van. The van reads “Restore”. What does this mean?

 

I remember that I have my keys in my back pocket. I reach my hands in to my pocket. I remember watching a youtube video on how to pick locks. Using my keys I attempt to open the back doors of the van. My mam is so hysterical that she doesn’t notice. I finally get the door open. I scream “Run!” and my mam stops crying. We jump out of the van and begin running. We continue to run for about 10 minutes until I turn around and notice that the coast was clear. I have never run that fast in my life! My mam turns to me, her eyes red and swollen and gives me a tight hug. She says “you saved us.” Saved us from what? I wanted to ask. Just as I turn to ask the question I hear a gun fire. I feel no pain. Is this how it feels to be shot? As i turn to look at my mam it is then I realised, I wasn’t shot. My mam stares into my eyes blankly as her white blouse beings to turn red. I run over to my mam as I watched her die in my arms. Everything becomes dark.

 

Summer

 

The clock strikes 12, the exams are over,

 

Summer has finally arrived.

 

3 months of excitement and adventure

 

3 months to spend creating memories.

 

Catching up with friends and visiting family far away.

 

Eating ice cream and drinking lemonade.

 

Having picnics on the beach or in the park

 

Going on family holidays, travelling on a plane

 

Laughing, smiling, and probably sun-burning

 

But most importantly giving myself a break.

 

Doing what I love and breaking away from strict routine And that’s what summer means to me.

 

House

 

It’s the one place I can always return to

 

I can be myself

 

There’s very little restrictions

 

A place of security

 

A lot of freedom

 

A door between me and the outside world

 

There’s no opening hours

 

A place of comfort

 

Somewhere I can eat and sleep

 

No invitation needed.

 

A smile that can light up your day

 

A presence that can make anybody smile

 

Each laugh line a sign of a good time

 

Each wrinkle a hardship gone by.

 

Always there with some wise words

 

Never quick to judge but quick to listen

 

A kind-hearted gentle soul

 

A safe haven when needed

 

A home away from home

 

A person who has always been my number one fan I love my gran.

 

Sleep

 

There is nothing like that comforting feeling

 

Of collapsing into what I believe is the safest place in the world.

 

No matter what may have happened that day

 

Being able to return to that place, helps.

 

I am completely relaxed.  Nothing matters.

 

It is my favourite place in the world.

 

The feeling of ease as you phase out of

 

A state of consciousness,

 

Your mind is now completely in control

 

And the whole world seems to stop.

 

Peace and quiet at last!

 

Music

 

There isn’t a time during the day where i’m not listening to music (except in school). I’ll wake up every morning go to my phone and throw on whatever I was listening to the night before. I’ll brush my teeth and wash my face timing myself of the duration of the chosen song. I know the exact location of every song on my playlists, what’s coming on next and how long the song lasts for. I always pick and choose what parts I want to listen to. I skip back and forward never able to listen to a song for its full length. I make sure i have my earphones in my coat pocket before I leave the house Walking home I put them in .Blocking out the noise of the traffic and shouting kids. I connect my phone to the big bluetooth speaker (it lights up in time with the beat ) and blare more songs until my parents get home. This is the time where I feel most relaxed. Feel free. Disconnecting from everyday life.

 

You held my hand as I walked to school that first day

 

You were there when i came home, telling you my new best friends name You showed me how to tie my shoelace every day

 

And you were there when I cried over my many failed attempts It’s okay, you would say

 

You helped my pick out my communion dress

 

And told me how I may not want a pink one, she took away the stress You showed me the joy that the world has to see

 

But also warned me of the dangers that there may be

 

You are by my side throughout it all

 

I’m glad I can call you my mom.

 

It’s a place I know

 

Where all problems fade away

 

And in those moments I feel euphoric

 

Memories etched in my heart

 

Of experiences there old and new

 

No two times exactly the same

 

But the joy is always there

 

It’s where we are united

 

And I count down the days

 

Until I can feel that freedom again.

 

Seeing Clearly

 

I know my least favourite feeling

 

That feeling you get, standing in line

 

A box being built around you, closing

 

In as it gets closer to your turn.

 

You sit in your airplane seat, gripping the Armrests, chewing gum, music blaring in your ears.

 

Peering over the edge of the diving board the

 

Rope tethering you to the ground

 

While the clock ticks on

 

As soon as you leave the ground the

 

Band is stretching. Being pulled. Pulling you back.

 

You push on. It snaps, you’re free.

 

Looking around you can see everything.

 

(The sea where you learned to swim.)

 

You’re up so high nothing obstructs your view

 

(The mountains where you made your closest friend.)

 

That box is left abandoned on the ground

 

(The house where you grew, where you grow.)

 

That’s my favourite feeling.

 

Being free. Free to see everything clearly.

 

Flying.

 

Hands clasped, eyes locked

 

Seeing nothing in his eyes but a future

 

The overwhelming feeling of warmth and safety

 

Filling me from toe to top, full of joy.

 

We touch, electricity

 

My nerves light up like Times Square on New Years Eve Boom bah boom, my heart skips a beat

 

But only he can do this to me, the power is his.

 

What is love?

 

The question I continue to ask myself

 

It’s this feeling, this indescribable feeling

 

Vulnerability, is as close as I can get.