JGHeraghty | Poetry

Hi there, I'm going to dive straight into my December upload because I doubt I'll get the same time to get around to it after today. There's just so much to do. College is busy, the workload is intoxicating, people are unbearable and sleep is the most difficult thing to get around to these days. It got me thinking about mental health, and what effect a busy, exhausting lifestyle might have on an individual. I also considered the recent terrorism events that have been happening in midland Europe in the past few weeks, and I wanted to write something relevant. Of course, there is a hint of something else in there, an empowerment. Control, almost. What's interesting about the recent terrorism events, is that there are many sides to the fighting. And it's becoming more and more difficult to understand who is on whose side. Though, saying that, there are a minority that are not on any side, because the fighting is pointless.. Violence is not the answer! And t

Hello readers.. This month, I want to post my most recent as usual. I know it's been quite a while since my last post, but that's mainly because I've been so busy with everything. Deadlines are all flooding together at once! Anyway, I wrote this while I was actually concentrating on a Creative Media assignment. Basically, what we had to do is create an info graphic, based on a humourous story that has featured in the news. I don't know what it was about my choice but it got me thinking. I decided initially to base my assignment on an article about children's phones replacing piggy banks.. And then I switched it because my ideas for it became more than what the assignment required. I started drawing out massive iPhones, stomping their way around the globe, trampling on all the little piggy banks. Now, I know you're laughing.. But the little piggys! Anyway, aside from the source of the poem, I think you may all agree that this is far less humourous than

Hi guys! I've been attempting to write something like this for quite a while now. My first drafts were based on two feelings. Predominant feelings. Or, maybe not feelings exactly.. But inner characters. They contained two main characters personified as a lock and key. Both important to one another. Buckling together to create one. But that's not what I was aiming for. My aim was to capture the two opposite characters that live in us all. Like the angel and demon on opposite shoulders, for example. We are not two faced, we don't have two personalities. We are one person.. with many inner feelings. Our attitude just reflects the feeling we let take control of us. I'm delighted with the finished piece. I believe it captures exactly what I wanted it to. I hoped to create two main characters that would win over the reader. And show that, I've found, even the best of us, the happiest of us, the ones who are always seen to be smiling. And are constantly genuine, frie

Hey everyone! This month, I've went with a recent poem. Free Bird says a lot about humanity, it highlights optimism, and the 'fight' we all have in ourselves. Hope is one of the main themes of the poem, for me anyway. I'm uncertain how it will be construed by everyone else. But for me, I think it's one of my favourite. A few years ago, if someone had compared me to a bird, free, flying about in the sky, unafraid of the big world that surrounded me, I would have agreed. Because, it was true. I felt like a bird, in the sky. Free. But now... Now I don't. That freedom seems to have faded. Inside, I have lost a little bit of that innate hope. I think it's safe to say it was initially because of external issues that I've been reduced to these feelings. I think we're all knocked out of the sky for some reason or another.. and it is only then that we find out who we are, what we want and what we're worth. For instance, the bird, will only st

The title is a big giveaway about the content of this entry. Only days ago, we all lost someone close to us, a good friend and acquaintance. This loss has hit us hard, as losses usually do. But for me, I think people may be wondering why it has hit me so badly. Why I have been so affected. I guess, when I first started going to community bingo in the village, John was the first person I met. The first to pop out of the crowd and introduce himself. Although he was about 50 years my senior, age is only a number. In fact, in our friendship, our names were only words too. It wasn't about who we were, or what we did. We were gathered together, each weekend, as warm company. There to have a laugh, and socialise. It was a place to forget about the lives we lived outside of that bingo hall. The only thing that really mattered was a good sense of humour. And that's what I liked about John. It is pointless to ramble on about turning back time and what we would have done differe

Happy August guys! This month, I'm really excited to upload my poem... I'm not sure why because, in all honesty, I don't think I'm a 100% satisfied with this poem. A part of me is considering rewriting it, or making some changes. But the other part is content with the finished masterpiece. Going back a good few months now, my younger sister, Clarice, passed a comment that I found breath-taking. I thought it was the most amazing sentence that I'd ever heard in my entire life. I want to give Clarice the credit for the phrase but, the idea that I implemented into a poem is solely mine. Thanks Clarice! Of course, Clarice is always the first person to hear my new poems, before they hit the site, and she loved this one. So I have to give her some acknowledgement. Last month, I put aside the idea of posting a poem that worked in conjunction with my life, but this month, I'm bringing it back. This poem is the poem of my year, in my opinion. I hope others can r

Happy July guys! I hope you're all keeping well... Caroline has recently requested that I post "A Sense of Place" this month, but I don't think it's the right time. I previously decided to post my poems in relation to my life. But this month, I'm not going to do that. Instead, here's one from my most recent bundle. I got thinking about an old friend earlier this month. One, I knew during the earlier years of my life. A friend, who outshone many of my friends that came later. She wasn't perfect, by far. Her name was Annika Kuyper. Annika taught me some of the most important lessons I know at this point in my life. She showed me that, despite what goes on at home, life can be normal. That absolutely no one is perfect, no matter how much they try. That there's a particular beauty in being different, which I have definitely lived up to! And, the biggest lesson, and the most important. You don't truly know the value of what you have until yo

Hey guys,  Recently, life is great. Which is something I always say, no matter how bad things really are. I always cover it up with simple words, because the longer explanation requires careful attention and serious listening.. A lot of the time I don't exactly feel like I have that. This year, so far, has taught me the art of remembering . My creativity, I feel, has reduced.. And my motivation too. I feel a little disappointed in those two things. They mean more to me than words can express and I've just let them slip. Up until these recent weeks, I had also forgotten quite a number of things from my childhood.. We get so caught up in the future and all the amazing opportunities ahead of us that sometimes we forget about what's right in front of us. I've come to remember quite a few little things that meant a hell of a lot to me when I was younger... Like, for instance, when I was really small, and had to step up on my tippee toes and stretch out my arm the fu

Hey guys.. Happy June! I told my sister, Caroline, I would post my June poem sooner than I have, but no poem in my collection suited the humour that has prevailed over me since the finale of my first year of college.. So, I wrote this one today. This next poem is the closest I can get to express one constant in my life. I have no explanation for the ways I'm feeling recently, so instead I'm redirecting my concentration toward the core of me. The Owner of Your Boots is about my brother, Michael Jnr., and how, all my life, I grew up looking for a protective figure to support me.. And, I've only ever felt it was there spiritually. This is a kind of poem I love to write.. But it's fairly difficult to allow myself to tap into these sort of feelings, so these poems come rarely. I have found a protective figure, that is my boyfriend Sean Golden, who I have previously mentioned a few times.. It's not entirely possible for someone else to fill my brother's sho

Hello again readers! I know this is my second post this month, but I'm keen to upload this one. In my last post I mentioned that May was my least favourite month of the year, and while there are many contributing reasons, this is one of the main ones. Today, the 27th of May, marks the 5th anniversary of a life changing event that I experienced. Five years ago, I was on a school tour with my class mates in Secondary school. We went to an activity center across the Irish border, in Northern Ireland. I won't give any specific details.. But basically, what happened was, I joined my friends on various obstacle courses in both water-based and land-based activities. I could safely have said it was the time of my life. That was until we went to do an archery course. I genuinely thought that meant bows and arrows.. But I was wrong. Instead, it was a course with activities such as swinging like Tarzan and walking on wired lines... I came to one specific activity, it was a leaping

Good May to you all! Now, I won't get into all the various reasons why May is my least favourite month of the year... But, at some point, I promise, I'll explain the lot. For now though, I want to just concentrate on an ancient matter. Friends play a massive role in my life. To some, friends are deemed to have little importance.. Which actually reminds me of the time Trevor told me he considered the term "friends" to be a 'loose term.' I want you all to know that Trevor came to realise he was very, very wrong. To me, friends make my life. I love my family and I know their values, but what I've learned is that friends show you a part of you you may have never even knew existed. I had many different friends through my years in Primary School, some who showed me that your outside family life can have a real impact on the kind of person you are.. Others showed me that trust needs to be earned.. Others even showed me that you don't truly know, res

Hello again, I know it hasn't been too long since my last update.. But ever since I put "Daymare" on the site, I've felt a little uneasy.. I'm trying to find the right words to explain it, but I can't. Daymare has a certain dark quality to it that has created a negative atmosphere on the blog.. and, for that reason, I want to change it. Of course, I can't recant my post.. I mean, I could delete it, obviously.. But that's not what I mean. I can't undo what is written. Daymare has to be one of my favourite pieces, mostly because it hits something inside that I can't even put into words. Yes, wordless... that's unusual for me! Anyway, I did say I was posting poetry that sort of reflects my life as it currently is.. So with that in mind, here's my next one. I wrote Endorphins while waiting for two of my college mates to meet me for project work. It was a Sunday and the weather was lovely.. The sun was on my face, there was a light

Hey guys! The year seems to be flying by already.. It's amazing how fast time goes when you're having fun! I've constantly been putting off updating the site due to the workload from college and keeping up with social activities... and the exhaustion that's associated with both. Although, throughout it all, I can't switch off the poetry.. This next one is one of my rarer ones. It explores the darker side of me, in the corridors of my mind I rarely let anyone trail. I had a problem. We all have problems, I know.. But this one was eating me, taking away my daytime hours, keeping me awake at night..crawling into my dreams, switching off the colours, and causing everything to go dark. Darkness. That's the only real word powerful enough to explain the scenario on which this poem is based. I was living a lie, pretending everything was okay when the truth was, I was hurting. I may have been grand but, emotionally, I was exhausted. The poem is based upon the p

Hey there! It hasn't been long since my last post but I wanted to upload this one onto the site. I wrote "Thinking Aloud" whilst traveling. It doesn't really matter where my destination was, nor what time it was.. nor what day it was. I genuinely did not care where I was at the time. I just know I had words spilling from my mind..and it felt good to finally have something positive on paper for a change. Over the past few weeks, I've been constantly asked why my poetry lacks positivity, why it's either morbid or depressing. I went through a phase of sticking to the theme of "letting go" while writing my poems..which is obviously evident and pretty noticeable now that I think of it. I had a few months where I felt eager to "just let go".. forgive and forget and all that.. but when I fell back into my own, supposedly comfortable, silence I found I couldn't just let go..I couldn't forgive or forget, I couldn't move on from whe

Happy March guys! Over the past few months, writing poetry has been really difficult, and I'm not exactly sure why. I think it's because I don't know what to talk about..or perhaps I just have quite a lot to talk about. Too much, in fact. I would sit in the sitting room at home with a refill pad and think really strongly for hours.. but nothing would come. One day I had been struggling quite a bit when I jotted down a draft of this one. Untitled and unstructured, I left the poem and moved on. A few weeks later I found it in amongst other notes in my notepad and chopped and changed it into what it is today. The only part of it worth keeping was the second last stanza. I've decided to dedicate this one to a guy I know really well, his name is Padraic McGowan. Padraic used the phrase "chasing shadows" to me at one point, while addressing our relationship.. I was the shadow..and he was the shadow chaser.. I merely put that int o a different co ntext, but tha

Happy February everyone! I couldn't find the time to get around to the blog these past few weeks so I think it's about time I got to it while I have the chance! This next poem was written after a series of events... Ones of which I can't find the words to address, aloud anyway. Basically, you go through your whole life feeling hopeless, defenseless, weak.. and then someone comes in and shows you the beautiful side to it, the side you've always been missing... And then, they decide to go again, just as quickly as they arrived.. It's not fair, it's just not fair. That's what the poem is about. How you can get so close to finally achieving what you've set your mind on, and then it can just slip away, right through your fingers. I have dedicated this one to Sean Golden.. Whether he understands why or not.. But, behind my personal reasons, the poem is based upon that hopelessness. That one specific feeling .. the one that breaks hearts and causes tear

Hi guys! I know it hasn't been all that long ago since my last post, but recently I've shifted in the extremities. I cannot stop writing poems!! On the 11th, I wrote three in total, almost adjacently! And yesterday, I wrote two, when I should have been studying. That's the funny thing about using your brain. Sometimes when you're trying to concentrate on something in particular, something else rushes in. It's kind of like how life is, you concentrate your aims on particular goals, and everything manages to intervene. I don't really know why anything like this is coming to mind... but sometimes people leave us too early. Whether it is a lover, a cousin, a friend or a brother. I wrote this one with my big brother, Michael jnr., in mind.. but a particular person questioned it. He asked me if it was about a boyfriend, or someone alike, which could potentially fit, but that's not the route I was on. So, in other words, the poem could appeal to anyone who

Hey guys! Happy January! 2015 is here, quicker than I could have ever anticipated. We've all made our resolutions and, well, Best of Luck with them all guys! I'm diving right in because, if I'm honest, sometimes it's better to just let the thoughts pour out instead of leaving them locked away in your mind, attacking you during every moment of silence. As much as I'm truly enjoying the time that I'm in, there does come times every now and again where my mind wanders back to a time I left behind...and, I just can't seem to understand why it keeps getting me down. In mid-December I realised I hadn't written anything, and that really worried me.. Simply because I feel like I've had my head in the clouds and, perhaps, I'm not seeing things as clearly as I should be. With all that in mind, during my birthday celebrations, I found myself leaving everyone's company and sat on the ground in my room constructing yet another of my least favourit