Home » Poems » Best » Ada Mckilligan » Best Ada Mckilligan Poems

Best Poems Written by Ada Mckilligan

Below are the all-time best Ada Mckilligan poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Ada Mckilligan Poem

Who Says-Alone

Maybe I want to be alone.
An island.
What can I say?
I guess
I was made
To be alone.
But then again
Who says
My name 
Defines
Me?
Who says
That I have to be alone?
I have the sharks
The birds
And every piece of driftwood
That washes up on my shores.
I will never be alone.
But then again,
Who says 
I can't be
Alone?

Details | Ada Mckilligan Poem

Juxtaposition

I am unbreakable,
Strong like steel,
No, diamond.
You can hurt me.
That’s fine.
I’ll bounce
Right 
Back.

I am frail,
Flimsy like playing cards,
Barely here,
Barely hanging on.
You can push me.
That’s fine.
I’ll fall
Down
Slowly.

I am broken,
Shattered like mirrors,
Splintered on the floor.
You can break me.
That’s fine.
It’s just
Another 
Crack.

I am intact,
Held together like patchwork,
Carefully fixed.
You can tear me.
That’s fine. 
I was made
Like
That.

I am loud,
Crashing like the waves,
Pounding to the shore.
You can hush me.
That’s fine.
I won’t
Stay
Quiet.

I am undefined,
Unknown like fire,
A mystery even science can’t classify.
You can label me.
That’s fine.
I’ll tear
It 
Off.

I am invisible,
Hidden like gravity,
Still very much here. 
You can see me.
That’s fine.
Blink and I 
Disappear.

Details | Ada Mckilligan Poem

Ode to Weights

Dear dumbbell,

I can remember the first time
I held you in my hands.
Two 5-pound weights - small, yes,
But if you can remember,
I was seven.

My father, forty-six and still going,
Introduced me to you.
I was young, and wasn’t as dedicated.
Not as I am now. 

He loves you 
Just as much as me.
Maybe more.
If I’m being honest,
You saved us both.

When I’m in the gym, it’s the only place
I feel at peace. Powerful, and after all
In pain, isn’t there strength?


The more I use you, the more it hurts
But
The more it hurts, the more I use you. 

Some judge me for loving you.
My own mother
Calls it unladylike.
If delicate, fragile, tiny, is
Ladylike
Then I think I’ll be a brute. 

Every time 
I step down, enter your home’s dark embrace,
Calm washes over me, comfort in knowing
I am strong. 

And every time I don’t,
I regret it. 

This is a thank you, 
A promise 
That because of what you gave me,
I will give you my
All.

Details | Ada Mckilligan Poem

Hope is a traitor

The world is still spinning,
Still circling the sun.
It keeps moving,

Despite the tears.
Despite the pain.
Despite the losses.

As I climb, I wonder
Why?
As branches scratch my arms,
The leaves whisper “Why?” into my ears.
An ant crawls on my arm.
“Why?” It asks the beetle.
“Why do some die,
While others survive?”

“I don’t know.”
Answered the beetle
Sadly, watching the bombs 
  Fall

                     Down

                                                Slowly
Onto the people below. 
“I don’t know.”

My parents say to have hope.
Hope makes things better.
But I had hope once.
I had hope.
                                                              And hope betrayed me.

The people, 
The victims of our crimes,
Buried six feet 
Under

Did they have hope?

They did.
And how did that
Work out 
For them?

Hope betrays,
And nobody stops to wonder why.

So I climb up,
Higher and higher, 
Until the only sounds 
Are the whooshing of the wind
And the empty promises of hope.

Details | Ada Mckilligan Poem

Misunderstood

I can hear,
But not what you say to me,
Because what you say to me 
Is meant to hurt me,
And I don’t want
To be hurt.
Do you hear me? 

I can see,
But I can’t see you,
Because you do not wish 
To be seen.
I will show myself,
If you show you first. 
Do you see me?

I can feel,
Hands reaching out,
Grasping at you,
Feeling nothing,
Not even you.
Do you feel me? 

Will you hear me?
Voices upon voices,
Begging to be heard.
I want to be heard.

Will you see me? 
I’m right in front of you,
You turn your head.
I want to be seen.

Will you feel me?
I understand you,
Do you understand me?
Of 
course 
not.

Details | Ada Mckilligan Poem

Acceptance

What do you know about me?
Unsmart, Unselfless, Unnice, Unsaid.
I think the better question is,
What do you think you know about me?
Words glide over me, 
I have stopped caring.

What do you wonder about me?
Nothings upon nothings upon nothings.
I thought there would be more.
Is that all I am to you?
You say nothing,
I say goodbye.

What do you remember about me?
Written and unwritten,
Once remembered,
Am I now forgotten?
You can’t forget something
You never knew. 

What do you say about me?
Listening and lonely and lost,
I heard everything you said.
How interesting, you didn’t know?
Eyes on you,
Ears crying out in pain. 

What do you think about me?
Nobody sees, nobody cares, nobody loves you.
Words written in bold ink.
Did you know I’m blind?
Eyes forward,
Don’t look back.

What do I know about you?
Enough that I know that you can’t hurt me,
You can’t hear me, 
And you don’t know me.

Details | Ada Mckilligan Poem

Idiosyncratic

What am I?
Flesh and blood and bone
On the surface.
Dive deeper though,
See what you can find
Before you 
Drown. 

How am I?
Emotions roar
Then dull out
A simple 
“Fine”
Which is enough for you
But not for me.

Where am I?
I’m here 
Of course,
But not really 
Here,
I’m in the zone
And zoning
Out. 

Why am I?
Why can’t I just be?
Just be?
Normal.
Normal 
Doesn’t exist. 
If you’re normal,
Then you 
Don’t 
Exist.
You don’t exist.

Who am I?
You think you know me.
Look again,
Because you’re wrong.
I’m not 
Who you think I am
At all.

Details | Ada Mckilligan Poem

Granular

Can you see me?
Eyes open
But still unseeing
To the truth,
Which has been hidden
In the lies of life.

Can you find me?
Wandering through hallways,
Knowing my way around
But still lost
In my willow-weep thoughts
From yesterday.

Can you hear me?
I’m talking to you
And you look like 
You understand.
But do you really?
I don’t think so.

Can you feel me?
I’m right here,
You’re reaching out to touch me
But your hand
Connects
With nothing.
Because that’s what I am to you. 

Can you tell me?
Tell me the truth.
What you think 
Of this world around us.
But what if you forget breath?
My ask
Goes unanswered,
Lost in the space
Of forgotten memory.

Can you remember me?
Papers and words and life
Come together 
To be me.
But what happens 
When they burn?

Details | Ada Mckilligan Poem

For Them

Do I feel you?
Peaceful,
Like drowning in cloud,
Absorbing my screams until I can scream no longer.

Do I hear you?
Hope,
Speaking out to me every day,
Telling me to breathe, telling me to hope.

Do I see you?
Sweetness,
Lacy fondant in your brain,
Reminding me to smile again, it’s okay to be happy. 

Do I know you?
Nonchalant,
You are your own opinion,
I am my own opinion, thanks to you.

Do I remember you?
Freedom,
Living your life as only you can,
Teaching me to live my life too.

Do I understand you?
Ideas,
Overfilling your brain,
Spilling into my ears and onto my paper. 

This is my paper.