She hates me
she looks down
on me
overcharges me
refuses to house me
tells me that she knows better
loves the rich
she gets upset
if I contradict her
makes new laws
to keep me quiet
scolding her little boy
the one she doesn’t take out in public
as I wait under the floorboards
in the basement
she keeps tabs on me
then turns off the heating
she charges me
for potty mouth
gives me strange exams
to keep me down
saying the same thing
over and over again
but I never seem to listen
I hear the rats
scratching
in the walls
down here in the basement
they’re thinking of rising too.
Declan Geraghty is a working class writer and poet from Dublin. He’s had poetry published in Shanghai Poetry Lab, Epoque Press, Militant Thistles, Cry of the Poor and the Brown Envelope Book. His latest short story featured in Lumpen London issue 11. He has won a mentorship with Words Ireland, and their national mentoring program for new writers. He's recently won a scholarship place with The Stinging Fly Play It Forward Programme, and been awarded a mentorship with Skylight 47 Poetry