Poetry by Deborah

kids in sensored jackets,
duck behind boxes
hide around pillars
hunt in teams
laser guns blazing

Music is a poor paymaster
in monetary terms that is
so with this career path disaster
why do musicians still persist

She churns mail at midnight
grinds round the clock
swings from sugary sweet
to grating as a rock.
a woman in a man's world:
equating achievement
to non-stop adrenaline,
like a wild swinging pendulum.

Predatory pervert, dense as a rock
Ready to tweet around the clock
Ignorant and ideologically divisive
Callously dismissive, mentally unsound
Kicks the vulnerable to the ground

India has rule of law. in theory.

but when there is a traffic accident
the driver of the larger vehicle
jumps out and flees
fearing that a lynch mob of
vigilantes
will take justice
into their hands,
without following the rule of law:
presumed innocence
and due process.

red velvet rose twines next to white suede
lily of the valley scents the air
perfumes anoint the garden glade
while queen of the night does her share

equality, secularism, democracy
are being eradicated by our government.

you, the majority religion, are silent.
worse still, you claim the sins of
christian crusaders and colonials
justifies my persecution in the present.

workers in a factory
once came to fisticuffs
over of all things! coffee:
accidental exchange of mugs.

ideals and ideas
freedom and fears
atheists and believers
polarised and diverse

hands on hips he stands and glares
man-spreading... and challenges
anyone who speaks up and dares
to question his unearned privileges

offspring from lawless state
evil sexual predator
thought your fancy doctorate
gave you rights above all others

you hired me for your project
measuring skeletons and X-rays
thought you'd nail the village idiot
you never dreamed I'd get away

As I pass by happy families
parents, children, strolling by
I wonder if beneath are stories
of more than just what meets the eye
that look, that glance, that glimpse of interest
I know they wonder, same as I

You vicious scum, disgusting maggot
you live off flesh that wells with reeking rot
festered in salty sweat rankingly rendered
from aching angst of loveless labour

Who’s that talking to you
voices in your ear
do you think it's easy
to stand up to one you call leader

I see a lush garden
chiccos, mangoes, papayas,
guavas thrive
flowers live along side:
roses, lilies, dahlias, and
queen of the night
has just closed her arms
waiting to embrace another dusk.
a small white fluffy Pomeranian
barks around me frantically,
birds in overhanging branches
tweet cheerfully,
welcoming the sun.

You want a house in a cul-de-sac
You want the tax man off your back
You want it all
so you’ll stand tall
But boy are you prepared to pay the price
Oh yeah are you prepared to pay the price

Licentious sexual predator!
your status is
NO permission
to prey upon another.

Quid-pro-quo,
threats and commands
when I dodged
grasping wandering hands.