The Brass Band in the Waiting Room

They used to use brass bands to cover up the screaming
of people having their teeth removed
with no anaesthetic

In fact, many people didn’t need their teeth removed
They were talked into it
A tooth out now,
meant not having a tooth out later
Some people weren’t aware
that they wouldn’t grow back

The teeth were kept
all shapes and ages
together on a string
of calcium
of conquest

In the music industry
we are the brass band
and we are the ones screaming

But only a few of us
are the ones pulling teeth

Ruby Solly

This poem is part of a larger series on the history, current landscape, and hopefully future solutions about rape culture within the music industry, both within Aotearoa and nationally. This series was inspired by the launch of ‘Tika’, my own experiences being in the music industry since my early teens, and the experiences of all the people I’ve spoken with about their experiences over the last fifteen years; from all sides of the culture. Hopefully we can get a birds eye view together and see where we can fly. If you have experienced sexual harm within the industry, or within your wider llife, know that many of us stand with you, and please check out Tika if you are feeling that reporting is the best next step for you or music helps for more support with your mental wellbeing.
Ruby Solly

Ruby Solly (Waitaha, Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe) is a taonga pūoro practitioner, musician, composer, writer, doctor of public health, and general polymath-who-is-bad-at-math. She has had two books longlisted for the Ockham Book Awards, ‘Tōku Pāpā’ (2020) and ‘The Artist’ (2023). As a musician / taonga pūoro player, she has played with the likes of Marlon Williams, French for Rabbits, Whirimako Black, Yo-yo Ma, and Tararua, her favourite band. She has a PhD in the use of taonga pūoro within hauora Māori and believes in a safe music world, and a safe ao pūoro, for everyone.

Poetry Shelf will post poems from Ruby’s ongoing series over the coming months.