my boss is from my country of origin
has been in australia for many years
he owns two restaurants
employs newly arrived
i’m just in this country and working for him
i labour six days every week
ten straight hours from morning to night
he pays me four hundred dollars a week
gives me one small meal
and a short rest each shift
he takes two hundred bucks a week from my wage
for a bed in a room with three other staff
the house has four rooms
where he keeps his workers
we’re almost incarcerated
with no way out
all of us here have difficult lives
some with no work permits
or waiting for visas
he tells us we’ll be sent back to our countries
if we report or complain
so we stay quiet
in fear
my boss tries to touch me when i’m alone
i’m distressed and vulnerable all of the time
two other girls say he does it to them
we stay close as a group
when he lurks to attack
this is not what i thought of life in australia
i heard this country was fair for all
but there are many people the same as me
trapped by disadvantage
prisoners of circumstance
a kind man i know said we should stop work for a day
to show our boss without us he can’t make his money
he told me we have more rights than we think
we talk about his advice
every night in our room
last night we decided on a day we won’t work
all of us agreed to see it through
i’m happier knowing we will now take action
but frightened and nervous
of what might happen next
not working for him for one full day
may not seem like much to fortunate people
but for our worried group it is risky and brave
yet it makes us more hopeful
not so bleak in our now
a bond is forming between us all at work
i sense our boss feels and sees it grow
he looks uncomfortable as friendships emerge
anxious when we smile
working under his stare
once we have stopped work for the day
we will research legalities for each of our plights
and in regards to his cruel treatment of us
we deserve more than what is happening each day
we are human beings and have feelings and rights
stopping work for one day may be the start of change
i feel less alone now as i slave away
we will support each other towards this day
we are one all together
and we will do what we must
Stephen House is an award-winning playwright, poet, and actor. He’s won two Awgie Awards (Australian Writer’s Guild), Adelaide Fringe Award, Rhonda Jancovich Poetry Award for Social Justice, Goolwa Poetry Cup, Feast Short Story Prize, and more. He’s been shortlisted for Lane Cove Literary Award, Overland’s Fair Australia Fiction Prize, Patrick White Playwright, and Queensland Premier Drama Awards, Greenroom best actor Award, and more. He’s received Australia Council literature residencies to Ireland and Canada and an India Asialink. His chapbook “real and unreal” was published by ICOE Press. He is published often and performs his work widely. Find out more on his website.
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