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| Rita Malhotra |
her tears have no dreams
the soul soaked in fear
she is sold from man to man, each
grazing along pastures of blind lust
like a fragile rose petal carried away by
ruthless mountain winds, she is victim
to cruel carnal pleasure in animal eyes
time seems to have crossed the fence
of all reason
her body under a scanner
the soul torn out of her being, she is
a trafficked bride for a male heir
religion of humanity shamed
another history is subsumed in
warped social perceptions
was that really the Shiva-Linga**
she worshipped from girlhood
to womanhood
or merely a piece of rock?
else why would those intense prayers
lead her to the wolves’ den?
in her anguished agony is heard a
soul-wrenching call “Draupadi,
i beseech you to circumscribe me”
today, she is a stranger even
to her own shadow
her mute screams of protest drown
in the murky abyss of savaged silence
will darkness ever pave a path to light?
i am bereft of any answer
uncertain tomorrows trace a question mark.
