Éalú ó Bhiorra
Juno P.
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This was a very personal and complicated piece for me to write. My mother comes from a very small town in Ireland, where generations of my family are from due to the lack of resources required to move elsewhere. Whenever I visit I have this guilt that hangs over me, because I have so much more opportunity than any of my cousins who were raised in that town. I wrote this poem from the perspective of one of my cousins to highlight the feeling of worthlessness that is perpetuated by the town's community. Since I am lucky enough to have supportive parents that consistently do what's best for their kids, it's easy for me to forget that not everyone is as privileged as I am. Writing this poem helped me connect with my roots in a way I never expected. What really became clear to me when writing this poem is that the set of circumstances in which a person is born into is not their fault. While we may judge some people for drinking at an early age, or maturing too quickly, it's important to understand that these things aren't the fault of the person, but the fault of circumstance. The title of this piece, Éalú ó Bhiorra, means "Escape from Birr" in Irish Gaelic. It was important to me to preserve pieces of my culture in this poem, so I included bits of Irish customs in it as well.
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To me, creativity is the ability to express emotions and thoughts through a form of your choice. Being creative is being lucky enough to have a form of self expression, even when you feel like nobody understands you and nobody is listening.
