Tribute to the Stars

Introducing Deanna Jackson, age 14, who has always written poetry since she was about eight years old. However, it wasn't until her first year at Secondary School aged 11, that she began to commit to it. Deanna wrote poetry to express her feelings, not just about starting a new school, but life as a whole, and how she felt about it. Writing poetry became a natural thing to do, particularly when she was upset. If Deanna felt that she couldn't speak to anyone, then she wrote poetry which gave her a voice. Now, she mostly writes poetry for the enjoyment. However, it will always be her support mechanism whenever needed.

I met Deanna on 11^th August 2012, when she attended a Creative Writing Workshop that I led at Wellingborough African-Caribbean Association's Fun Activity Day. I was impressed by the way Deanna very quickly wrote and delivered a new poem, fresh off the press during the session. At the end of the workshop, Deanna handed me two of her poems. So it is with much pleasure that I post them here:

Tribute to the Stars

So many stars have died so young
There lives we’ll never forget
When they started taking drugs
they didn’t consider the effects

Whitney Houston topped the charts
but the drugs sent her singing downhill
she always looked so exhausted on stage
but she struggled on still

Amy Winehouse lived her life
through many ups and downs
she was so pale and weak
and in her sorrows she did drown

Michael Jackson, we will remember
as the legend of music he was
His painkillers made him feel so great
and his death was such a loss

So let this be a warning to you
before it is too late
for these stars thought that drugs would help
and they had a much worse fate

Realisation

When I was young, life was simple
Just like a roundabout
there never really was any change
so there were no reasons to have any doubt

When I was young, I had no priorities
I had no list of things I wanted to do
other people didn’t matter as much
I had a more self-centred view

When I was young, I could laugh at things
that I didn’t even understand
Things just seemed like so much fun
I didn’t think life needed to be planned

When I was young, things were different
I didn’t know what was yet to come
I never realised how bad you could feel
And how it felt when you wanted to run

When I was young, I didn’t want to grow up
And when I did, I wanted everything to rewind
But now, I’ve finally grown to realise
Age also gives you a stronger mind