A Public Toilet

By Deepti Kapoor

Unwarranted opinions

Written on my walls and bones The scars all over my body Beckon you to come close

Take me by force

And be done with thrusting me on

To let out all your gore

What is it about my face

That you so absolutely stare off?

Like places you drop my number on

For perverts and scoundrels of the throne

Unkempt tiles and rusty floors

Remind me of the evils you flush down my throat

Filth consumes the back of my stomach

Like flies on a runny tanker of dilapitated water next to the burner

Maybe if i was in a good place Like some businessman's home

Or mistress to a man unknown

Would i be well off

And less shameful of my own stare Maybe if i was a five star hotel's muse

And not a structure on the streets

Bared naked and full of shit that reeks Maybe i wouldn't be a public toilet But a proud woman of the street.

By Deepti Kapoor