Chickens in a Pen - by Romani poet Raine Geoghegan
They drove us off the tober,
we settled in a ken
The chavies didn’t like it,
like chickens in a pen.
They drove us off the tober
you’ve never seen the like.
We couldn’t hear the cuckoo sing
or light the yog at night.
They drove us off the tober,
the politicians had their say.
We’re Gypsies through and through.
Watch us rise and go our way.
They drove us off the tober,
we settled in a ken.
The chavies didn’t like it,
like chickens in a pen
Romani words: Tober – road; Ken – house; Chavies – children; Yog – fire.
Raine Geoghegan, poet and prose writer has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester. Born in the Welsh Valleys, she is of Romany, Welsh and Irish ancestry. She has been nominated for the Forward Prize; Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net 2018. Her poems and prose have been published online and in print with Under the Radar; Romany Routes Journal; Poetry Ireland Review; The Clearing; Travellers’ Times and many more. Her poems and songs were featured in the documentary film, ‘Stories from the Hop Yards’ shown at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, alongside her reading. Raine’s first pamphlet, ‘Apple Water: Povel Panni’ was launched in December 2018 and was chosen as a 2019 Spring Selection by the Poetry Book Society. Her second pamphlet was published in October 2019 by Hedgehog Press. She is a Pushcart Prize; Best of the Net; and Forward Prize nominee. Her First Full Collection was published by Salmon Poetry Press in March 2022. She has been working with a Theatre Producer based in New York as a ‘Creative & Cultural Consultant’ on the musical ‘For Tonight’. Prior to being a writer, she was a professional actor and dancer also running her own women’s theatre collective called Earthworks. She has taught drama and movement in drama schools, teaching children and adults and has run women’s ‘self-empowerment’ workshops. She currently gives readings in the UK and Ireland and will be a Guest Poet at the Poetry Lounge in Sydney, Australia in April 2023.
Contact – rainegeo5@aol.com
Website: rainegeoghegan.co.uk
(Lead photograph credit: (c) Barrie Law from Robert Dawson Romani collection )
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