Poems to Ponder






Price of Being Beautiful by Kezia P - Y9

Some sides of stories don’t get told,

Truths rotting in the dark,

The ‘villains’ in the tales of old,

Left stamped upon, a mark.

 

What they don’t tell you is awful,

Secrets around each door,

They wouldn’t be considered lawful,

But for promises she swore.

 

 Medusa didn’t want the snakes,

The burden that they brought,

But she was up against the stakes,

It was one hundred to naught.

 

For she was up against a god,

Who reigned over the sea,

She never gave him the nod,

He took it all, ignored her plea.

 

Throughout this she did nothing wrong,

But didn’t receive the same,

As he, the villain, all along,

Yet all she got was shame.

 

That and the burning taste of guilt -

Guilt she shouldn’t have had to feel,

Ambitions crushed from chaos he built,

Forced her to make the deal.

 

It was Athena who she ran to,

Eyes red hot with despair,

Promised change, living anew,

But serpents to her hair.

 

Now she sits with her hissing crown

Wary yet dutiful

Tears spill down her tired cheeks:

Price of being beautiful.

 This poem was inspired by the Greek myth of Medusa. The author was keen to show the other (lesser known) side to the story - that in fact Medusa was a victim, not  a villain.

 April 2021




Make the Most of Today by Cerys H – Y8

I look back at the town

I used to call home

So cosy and warm

I never felt alone

 

But that was back then

Not in the times of now

Where the little things are lost

This change happened, how?

 

In the blank city

With dull streets and grey skies,

Where dreams are congested

And imagination dies

 

But back then and now

The places are the same

Same roads, same town

Just one worn away

 

The change is there

And I hate it so much

And I wish with all my might

To go back to the way it was!

 

When the sun smiled down

And the wind roamed free

While plants grew wild

As though just for me

 

Yes, I still remember those times...

Yellow sun, blue skies

But then I wake up and it’s gone

And I realise, it is time to move on

 

So I close the photo album

and the past fades away

While I think to myself

I’ll make the most of today.”








Skills by Amy P – Y9

A skill is something that’s overlooked,

A skill is something that carries you through life.

A skill is something that sets you apart,

And a skill can be something to make you fit in.

 

A skill is something that can be a curse,

As little children are expected to excel. 

A skill is something that can be hated,

As it can be the one thing you wish it wasn’t. 

 

Two skills can complete each other,

Or one skill could be thought of as better.

One skill could be looked over,

While the other is put on a pedestal.

 

A skill can be a talent,

Or it can be mundane.

Either way it is expected

For it to grow and grow

A skill can never be 

Something that you are ok at.

A skill must be perfect,

At least that's what we're told.

 















Memories by Mistee O' C-B

Nothing lasts forever
But I always thought
-Always hoped
It would:
A stupid teenage dream
That never was
And never really could

I thought we’d live
In that moment always
Forever in rose tint
And gold
Frozen in nostalgia
Buying what Hollywood sold

But that happiness
Unravels quickly
In so many unknowable ways
And then finding it again
Is like chasing smoke
Or having again
The blissful dream
From which you just awoke

All that is left
Are fragments
Of a bygone day;
Yellowed, distorted
By perspective
I try to focus on them:
But they shift, waver, fall away
My old mind ineffective

What then?
For the words
Which I command will
Never be immortal;
Forever is a concept
I have grown to mistrust
In the end
As with all things

Only dust

******


On the Edge by Zach B – Year 10

  We stopped for a rest on the side of the road 

And without the sound of footsteps and groans 

All the world was silent 

No, not silent; but quiet 

Quiet on the side of the road

  

The sound of crickets in bushes hung in the air 

And a freight train way off was rumbling there

 And all the world was still

 Absolutely, completely still

 As the sound of footsteps once again filled the air

 

 At the foot of the mound I turned

 And a group of five 

Was now a group of four

 Then I looked up the hill and learned

 That she had left and now stood

 On the edge with her hood

 Over her head

 

 I heard myself say without knowing “I’ll be back”

 And made for the summit now shrouded in black

 And all the world shone

 Though her eyes shone brighter

 As my hand came to rest on the side of her back


 She pointed out into the night

 And all the stars

 Lit up the sky

 And looking up her eyes were bright

 The earth a mix of colours

 Us transfixed at each other

 On the edge of the world

********





Waiting for Tomorrow by Mistee O' C-B

I remember you: 
Eyes so bright, 
Lips tickled by unshakeable hope, 
Walk buoyant with uncontrollable optimism, 
On your shoulders you could carry the world 
And nothing lesser 

Tomorrow, we’ll have it all 
You said  
Tomorrow will be our day 
 
Life was more vivid, 
Back then: 
Emotion heaved, 
A touch rippled on the skin 
Like a river 
Words weren’t just words 
They were paintings 
Rich in colour and feeling; 
A provocation was a war 
A small success was a triumph 
A slight falter a fall 
Since isn’t it better to sob and scream 
Than to have no fervour at all?  
 
If only you knew before 

They break your body first 
Each cut, each scar 
Each abrasion 
Carves a better worker 
It is searing at first, 
Visceral 
But don’t worry 
Soon it will be only a dull ache 
For something better 
And eventually 
A hush 
A gradual pacification 
Quiet resignation  
Acceptance numbs the pain  
But no need to think 
You don’t have time to complain 

Well...you sigh 
There’s always tomorrow 

Then they break your spirit 
You wouldn’t notice it 
At first; 
Creeping, like a tiger, 
It comes in the night 
Smothering you, 
Killing you as it sings  
Soft lullabies 
By then it’s a blessing  
When there is no more reflecting, 
No more stressing 
 
I’m just one person, you protest 
I can’t change tomorrow... 

That is when days become 
Duller, 
When a touch is just a touch 
And emotion is rusted by time 
What used to be words of passion 
Whispered in snatches of euphoria profound 
Loving caresses from the heart 
Now mumbled, recycled 
Taken from the lost and found 
Cheap and common like stubbed-out  
Cigarettes lying on the ground 

I remember you, 
The round face you once had 
Now riveted with lines; 
The jaunty poetry 
That never quite rhymed 
You brimmed with your own creativity 
But that has since dried up; 
You are no more than a vessel for  
Other’s words, 
Other’s beliefs, 
Other’s voices 
 
Perhaps someday they  
Will learn 
Tomorrow never comes 

By Mistee – Y9
 
 
 



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