Best Young Person Poems
Another Day
In the morning when I wake,
I am thankful I can see.
I am grateful.
I take a survey and find,
that I hurt in many places,
some way more than others.
Age... is a hard thing to understand.
There are too many issues,
to convey and no time left to do so.
Yeah, there may be a year...
or two or ten.
But getting older has been,
an experience.
Sometimes you have to do a thing,
to truly know how it feelzzzzz...
I sit up slowly not fast,
as I get dizzy.
Not from the normal flow of blood,
but the medications that I take.
It is just part of "getting older"...
But, I don't want to believe,
that part to be...
true.
"I remember when's" come up all the time.
"I wish that the I had's", were less often.
That would always be a good thing.
If I were to tell any young person today,
about tomorrow or even yesterday,
I would tell them loudly,
strongly and with all that I had to offer,
live and never stop living.
Regret is an evil sister,
you never want to live in the house
you will always intend to call home.
Do not be a toad.
Laugh.
Ann Foster BooksbyAFoster
Every time I sneeze or cough
Either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires!
Shouldn't be a big surprise
It's a definite sign we ain't no young chicken no more
When you grunt just putting on your socks
It's the ninth inning with two men out
If you have to turn up the volume on TV
Till it shatters the wine glasses in your dining room credenza
You are not far from the end
Another sign that you ain't no spring chicken
Is when you repeat the same sentence twice in a row
Is when you repeat the same sentence twice in a row
Also when you forget to zip up after you pee
What's worse though is when you forget to zip down
When everything hurts and what doesn't hurt doesn't work
It feels like the morning after and you haven't been anywhere
Your knees buckle but your belt won't
You sink your teeth into a steak and they stay there
You sing along with elevator music
You have a dream about prunes
Your nose and ears are hairier than your head
In dog years you're dead
Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional
And finally... inside every old person is a young person
Wondering what the hell happened!
© Jack Ellison 2014
As the winter of our lives vicariously arrives,
We think of the reasons why what we are survives;
We contemplate on things that happened long ago,
And I remember exactly all that I know.
It's what happened yesterday or five minutes before,
That deplete my memory and that's hard to ignore;
For people look at me with a questioning look,
When I ask where it was I last placed that book.
I'm loaded with groceries when I leave the store,
But my purse is back there behind the door;
And when I get to the car my keys can't be found,
So I bite my lip and don't make a sound.
I write notes that tell me what I have to do,
And end up putting my right foot in the left shoe;
I'm afraid to turn and look in the mirror,
For what I see shakes me with shock and fear.
I'm older but wiser than I used to be,
Which may be consolation if this has to be me;
But in spite of grey hair there's a twinkle in my eyes,
I'm still a young person; it’s just me in disguise.
Courage is when . . .
any person - like the crucified Christians in ancient times - take upon themselves certain death standing firm to their convictions.
Courage is when . . .
any person - such as Harriet Tubman in the 1800's or the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Era - take up the fight for human rights either for themselves or for others at the peril of their lives.
Courage is when . . .
any young person - such as Malala Yousafzai, puts their very life in danger by speaking out against rights being denied for reason of their gender, even to the point of taking a bullet to the head.
Courage is when . . .
any person having harmless but non-traditional behavior or sexual preference endures persecution for simply being themselves and showing their authentic selves to the world.
Courage is when . . .
any person - such as the front line doctors who stepped forward this summer in Washington DC to bring valuable knowledge to the public based on their many years of expertise - risk being mocked by the press or even losing their jobs.
Courage is when . . .
any person of any age or of either sex risks their reputation or puts themselves in a situation where bullying or shaming is certain to ensue, by speaking up for what they strongly believe to be just and true.
These are the more meaningful examples of what courage represents for me. By my own definitions, I don't suppose I possess very much of great courage.
Sept. 8, 2020 for the Courage Poetry Contest of Chantelle Anne Cooke
Too Many Poppies
I don’t want a poppy
I don’t want a shield
I don’t want to visit
Rows in Flanders Fields
Another young person
Yes a young soldier fell
They laid down their life
What story does it tell
Off to another war
In a far off land
Beaches in Normandy
Blood spilled on the sand
I don’t want a poppy
I don’t want a shield
I don’t want to visit
Rows in Flanders Fields
My heart can’t take it
Fathers, sisters and sons
Why do we choose to sacrifice
Precious innocent ones
Are guns the answer
Where does it all lead
Poppies upon rows
As young soldiers bleed
I don’t want a Poppy
I don’t want a shield
Fighting old men’s battles
Just leads to Flanders Fields
Soldier’s Response
I’ll do my best to defend
this land that I love.
I’ll risk meeting the angels
in heaven above.
Raising our flag of glory
I will gladly do
Even if they take me down
I'll hold it brave and true.
Canada my country
I'll stand by her and fight.
I'll take on its enemies
with all my strength and might.
No matter where I’m sent
I'll proudly make my stand.
To protect my home
Its people and land.
Your picture I hold
Close to my heart
Gives me my strength
When we are apart
Loved ones left at home
Won’t hear our battle cry
Their prayers are the hope
On which our spirits fly
If we don’t make it
Back to our home
Our sacrifice is our gift
In a field marked by a stone
Response to Soldiers
To all of our Soldiers
Who cannot be heard
Your actions and sacrifice
Are the final word
We wear our poppies
Hold our collective breaths
Some questions only answered
By actions and death.
A co-written piece by: Richard Lamoureux and Mark Wayne Shifflet. It was a pleasure to write with Mark.
We wished to point out the absurdity of men resorting to war while still honouring the men and women who so gallantly put their lives on the line to preserve our freedom.
Half-Eleven Form Contest/Nina Parmenter
THE ETOWAH INDIANS
The Etowah indians, tribe of redskins,
trading their buckskins.
Mississippian mounds base of temple grounds —
history astounds.
Spaniards kick dust, sitting high on each horse,
with winds changing course.
Silver helmets and harquebuses - tribe stared —
the thunderclap scared!
The Etowah Indians tribe of redskins
leave Georgia with wins
and young “bucks” with grins.
10/28/2018
harquebus - type of gun that sounded like thunder
young buck - a young person, child
The Chasm Of Depression And Death
Screams heard in the far off distance
Tales of pain and horror
Echoing through the night
They call for a hope that is never to come
Their calls fall on deaf ears of those who went before
The light from the distant blood red moon is dim in lost chasm
Unable to show what the night has hidden
Depression and thoughts of death fill the air
Young people die by their own hands
One useless suicide after another
Their futures destroyed while their screams go unanswered
Hope hides on the edge of the valley
Just out of reach and so far out of their dreams
It waits for someone to find it
Wanting to reach down to help
It starves from the lack of attention
Young people dying in a chasm of depression and death
Never giving life or hope a chance
Never looking to the heavens
Never finding what they should have seen all along
If only someone, somewhere would have said something
Made them look harder at the edge of the chasm
Maybe it could have saved just one life
Then another and another until the chasm closed
And no other young person would fall into its depths
Most females have forgotten that it takes more than
just being a woman to qualify as a lady.
Many women think that being sexy is all about
T & A, and not about inner beauty and the attractiveness of a gorgeous mind. Hence, they have put these ideas into their children growing brains.
So many of our young girls think sex is love, that's sad.
Way to many females don't even know what a classy lady is, they think it has to do with societies class system. This is because they have never met a classy lady, only trashy females trying to convince everybody they have class, all while their ass is hanging out!
The problem here lies in good role models, for all ages. Just because a woman is financially successful does not make her an appropriate role model. Having money and having class have NOTHING to do with each other. Fortunate girls have been blessed with good role models who were truly a class act ( hence their actions were in concert with their character as women). Some of us were shown a classic classy lady in our grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters and friends. Many were not that blessed.
Raising a daughter with class, confidence, intelligence and inner beauty can be a tall order in today's world. The media has twisted these values substantially. Parents, you know what you have done or failed to do. Instilling integrity, fidelity, honor and character is your job when raising a child. When a young person without basic values is turned loose upon the world, that word "classy" can determine there future. I know the task is difficult, but think of your love for your child. Do you condone trashy or promote classy? Kids can't be left to teach themselves ethics and self worth. I challenge parents to step up to the task and give your kids the gift of good parenting.
How could you, Mr. Barnoby?
How could you give me a math example?
You know I don't do math.
YOU'RE My math teacher, you know that.
You should know where a young person like me
Is with math. Yeah I said young person. Instead of
Kid, because I DON'T feel like a kid.
I'm 13 give me a break.
This math thing has kicked me around plenty
In The classroom.
Now, that I'm an adult or at least I think I am.
I might suffer a bit because Of the way I'm choosing to deal
With this math monster unlike most people would.
I plan on totally avoiding percentages, division, and equations.
I can perform division and percents if I wanted to.
But I'm choosing not to.
So far I've managed to not be mangled by a complex, crucifying,
Convoluted, conundrum.
A blood sucking equation.
I've never been mathematically inclined.
But after becoming an adult I discovered that I wasn't the
Only victim who saw algebra as FRIGHTENINGLY COMPLEX.
THE LAST WORD: A CALCULUS - LIKE MIGRAINE.
(x-3y+17) 5r= 15/91xy-p/2r-x
I cant read and write can somebody teach me,you tell young people like me that education is the key,I want it,I need it can somebody show me,theres a million things on my mind like who i wanna be but without education there is no me.Its been running heavy on my mind like 1+1 and 3×3 but a young person like me cant count because I been thuggin it out here in these streets,if i told you i was a mastermind would you believe me,right right is what they all say to me,Im not a dummie or a fool dont try to rule me because I dont have an education you think you can fool me.Education,education is what i hear from the hours of 6 to 3.My momma and my daddy keep preaching to me about "child go get an education and graduate for me,now that im in school there isn't a thing you can tell me,I can read,I can write wow I even know my abc's.Education is the number one thing you should have when tryin to survive in these streets because without that knowledge you will get ruined out here in these streets always remember that education is the key
What if there actually was a parallel universe
And we were given the option when we pass on
To cross over and start all over again
We could keep on flipping back and forth
Forever and ever and ever, for eternity
Uhhh... the jury's out on this one
Would we really want to go through all those painful episodes
Of growing up and learning
Being a vulnerable young person
Full of hopes and dreams that possibly never get fulfilled
A parallel universe... an interesting topic
Amazing what the human mind can conjure up
Don't know about you guys but methinks
Once is absolutely enough for me!
© Jack Ellison 2015
This young year has already been the last
to see a new Robin Williams performance on screen.
“Night at the Museum Part Three” echoes the past,
as the presence of actors my age grows lean
and I look back wishing I were still a teen.
With sadness I see my peers grow old,
but a young person is still trapped in my frail heart.
What will transpire as I watch the year unfold?
Which high school friend will be the next to depart?
How I miss Elaine, a sweet lady so beautiful and smart!
Even more distressing are the family concerns --
aging siblings and a dear uncle of great years.
Fear within my spirit relentlessly burns.
Young nieces have yet to shed worrisome tears
for the fears that accompany the starting of years.
Written January 17, 2015
We eat-
and we commit,
we saunter
and we feel it-
the wisdom,
the wire’s,
the welding of the mire to the person who is inspired-
an envelope licked by the man they call sire...
The literal
is pitiful,
so spin the skull
and make some mold,
take a poll,
read a skull,
enter when you’re full,
ask them to list the goals-
be motion while it’s on the phone,
black people when they’re away from home
festering lingerer’s un-laid by their bones
a drink-
cheap but hits the hole’s...
A young person preen,
a peacock mean,
a regular man green,
ridiculous and obscene!
Motion of the sea,
movement of falling beans-
music in the reef.
It courses through the blood
hidden from view it seeks out
the T-cells attaching itself
it silently goes to work
Invading and taking over
not caring if it's host
be a young person or old
killing of the white cells
Your gender it cares nothing for
or if you are straight or gay
insidiously it can hide for years
a master of disguise it patiently waits
Growing stronger all the time
breaking down the body's defences
it corrupts turning cells alien
not caring that as it slowly kills
That eventually it will too die
that as it completes its invasion
leaving a sick body open to attack
covered with open sores and abrasions
This silent killer in murdering you
does itself meet its own doom
dying along with its host
will we ever find a real cure?
This is about Aids/ HIV though it could also refer to cancer HIV is ingenious in
its ability to hide itself inspires by Harlan Coben's book Miracle cure
Our fine city built a brand new fountain
Stimulus provided so could obtain
Young person came up with a plot
A place for good suddings lot
Fear _cop in suba gear on bottom lain