Autos

Flapping her hands to rhythm of the breeze
Rocking’s graceful dance; bare tiptoe feet
Head bopping side to side; pure ecstasy
She sees the world in wonder’s frequency

Dark clouds descend; anxiety floods face
Mum stands to attention; concerned, makes haste
Hands clasping ears; the playground’s now too loud
Chanting guttural groans from wordless mouth

Mum plans her next move, not sure of what to do
Groans become screams; frantic cries ensue
Girl drops to knees; head bangs the gravelled floor 
Mum cradles her head; knuckles bruised and sore

Frenzied girl attacks, clawing and biting
Mum keeps her calm and gently starts to sing
Teeth and nails draw blood; trickles down Mum’s arm
Undeterred, tries to keep her child from harm 

Onlookers unkind whispers fill the air
Horrified faces... in disgust, all stare
Other parents can’t believe what they see
Girl rips out Mum’s hair, then bites her own knee

Mum grabs her keys and jingles them up high
Spellbound girl stops; a tear escapes Mum’s eye 
Baby bottle of milk given to appease
Tittering judgements as girl is thirteen 

Mum doesn’t react, she’s heard it all before
She’s just grateful for now that peace is restored
Storm lifts from girl’s face; sunrise smile returns 
Twirling, unencumbered, spinning-top turns 

Autism was derived from Greek - ‘autos’
Ironic, it means - ‘total self focus’
We’re actually all the same, not different
Made of light and energy... love’s current 

We all have unique traits and have our quirks 
We all struggle at times, have things which irk 
So why don’t we support and empathise 
Apathy... civilisation’s demise 

© Debbie Razey 2022 - Violet Moon Poetry & Photo

Storm Gazing

Rain-waves crashing at my windows 
Cannon clouds booming in the night 
Firework’s invisible grand show 
Roof tiles salute the gale in flight 

Dustbin’s teeth, percussive chatter 
Plastic bag ghouls afloat on air 
Recyclables topple, clatter 
The roof groans, moans in its despair 

Mums anxiously peek through windows 
Kids, in duvet dreams spin, cocooned 
Shrubs curtsy and flowers bow low 
to storm’s war combatant platoons 

Dogs join in the thunder’s chorus
Dads rescue wet washing from lines 
Heavy hooves pound; Moon’s in Taurus 
Poseidon’s fork, lights up the sky 

Fine sprayed bullets upon glass pane
Rolling thunder and wind at duel 
House shudders; glass rattles in frame
Pacing cat, knows not what to do 

Letter box converse with drain pipes
Break free gutter becomes log flume
Vicious branches, vehicles swipe 
Darkling clouds; spiralling black plumes 

Brass number nine, spins on front door 
Dandelions decapitate 
Bare trees whisper foreboding lore 
The gate does its best to escape 

Polka dot sheep now all huddle
Swallows take cover in the eaves
I sit here in blanket, snuggled
Enjoying downpour’s symphony 

Though I worry for the poor souls,
who make their beds out on the street 
At mercy of weather’s control 
Global warming, we should all heed 

Now suddenly as it came, leaves
Leaves behind eclectic treasures 
Like murmurations lift from trees
Leaves awe’s gift of peaceful pleasure

© Debbie Razey 2022 - Violet Moon Poetry
Photography by Egor Yakushkin

Music

It's true to say you'll always be first love 
From when I found some 45’s, aged ten 
A beat-up box of stardust from above 
Spherical black diamonds grooved with awe, zen
Wrapped neatly in thin sleeves of brown cardboard 
Excitedly I fumbled with stylos 
Crude plastic toy, my Fisher-Price player 
Hypnotic vinyl disk spun, holed, eyeless 
Addicted drug of choice; it's my saviour 
.
My first hit; harmonies from John and Paul
“She loves you” ringing in my ears; so true! 
That moment, Rock and Roll it stole my soul 
Flooded my synapses with “love me do(s)”
Small boy and I dancing, bewitched by beat 
Two ten-year-olds attracted on playdate 
Music took my attention more than he 
For our first kiss, a while longer he’d wait 
As I was lost in music’s majesty 
.
Next time my pocket money hit my hand 
To local market record stall, I ran 
Like kid in candy store, my sweets were bands 
Perusing every cover my eyes scanned 
Artwork, the feel and smell intoxicates 
From there on in, my dreamer’s hideaway 
Where memories, emotions I keep safe 
Soundtrack to life, the music I have played 
My heart’s song is written between the staves 
Music, the friend that never left... it stayed
,
So many bands, into my ears have strummed 
Some lyrics, melodies frequent my brain
My heart, it's slowed and quickened to their drums 
Without them, I'd have surely gone insane
Jukebox mind continuously plays tunes 
Lyrics have quenched my thirst for poetry 
Songs’ inspiration led me to a pen 
Without my music, I would not be me 
Music will be my solace... to the end 
,
© Debbie Razey 2022 - Violet Moon Poetry

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Eas Fors Waterfall

 Cascades the rocks; transcends my mind 

A lullaby for weary eyes 

Caressing cliffs, majestic crined 

Celestial like, shooting star skies

More hypnotic grace, you’ll ne’er find 

Except sweet sway of rhythmic tides

Like mane she flows, ethereal

White moonlight tinctures, pearlescent 

Did God from angels’ tresses steal

Silken ribbons, incandescent

Pale lava-rain; ebullient zeal 

Giggling water… effervescent 

Tranquil her call, so innocent   

Gentle whispers, murmurations  

Yet soulful song so eloquent

Enchants our hearts, incantations

Serenity... so redolent

Heals and frees from all frustrations

©  Debbie Razey 2022 - Violet Moon Poetry. 

(NB - Eas - Gaelic for waterfall 

         Fors- Norse for waterfall)

 

The Pain She Hides

Her face, it charts a map of where she's been
Beneath the paint's serene facade…murky
A veil she wears so trauma can't be seen
Faint signs hidden: eau de toilette - 'whiskey'

Wrinkles etched deep, that makeup cannot fill
Tinged, red, cobwebs tattooed on whites of eyes
Her thin smile twitches, strained; cannot keep still
Even though luscious lashes try disguise

The pain she hides sings sonnets to the wind
Poignant their tone with stanzas of regrets
Gale echoes back to her in wails unhinged
Soliloquy of heart; hears no one... yet

When carried, pain concealed, it starts to grow
When roots split heart and psyche; fear is sown

© Debbie Razey 2022 - Violet Moon Poetry

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Crumpled Shapes

Fierce, biting cold it steals their dreams 

Hunger’s cruel ache; King thief of sleep 

Loneliness, their bedfellow... screams!
Trauma grips tighter; hears them weep

Snow falls, but no angels they make 
Like Korai… frozen figures, draped 
Angel of death; they fear their fate 
Cold, Cement City’s crumpled shapes 

Once they were someone... to someone
Now dishevelled; minds full of holes
To all, but their bereft loved ones,

they’re nameless; forgotten, lost souls

The truth is, they’re like you and me 
Uncomfortable... it may be 
One turn of fate; brought to their knees 
Show them empathy; kindness, please 

Tonight, on mattresses of stone 
May it be their last without hope
May caring hands guide gently home
We all need help... sometimes to cope 

© Debbie Razey 2022 - Violet Moon Poetry

Iona

Within her shades of green and blues

The waves and breeze; the stony hues 

The peace evoked is palpable 

Crofts snuggled in her hilly mounds

Lulled gently by Iona’s Sound

Her repose... unfathomable 

With weary lungs I breathe sea in

Exhale all worries and my sin 

Her Holy grace... historical 

St Columba from Irish shores

Brought religion to pagan souls 

Poor Oran’s heart... unstoppable  

First Celtic church and monastery 

Cradle of Christianity 

A thin place... irrefutable 

From Martyrs’ bay sailboats are seen

Cove’s bloody past hard to conceive 

Savagery... undeniable 

 

Now ferry mounts her crystal shores

Not Viking boats in search of hoards

Terror... unimaginable   

Amongst her abbey’s sacred grounds

Monks envisioned with their heads bowed 

Legacy... immeasurable

New pilgrims retrace nun’s footsteps

In contemplative prayer attest

Healing through love is... possible

So when I wave her shores goodbye 

Her calm I take in my mind’s eye

Renewed my hope... I am humbled

© Debbie Razey 2021 - Violet Moon Poetry.