The defiance
Shreema Ningombam *
Let me cast aside these jewels
The adornments in my ears; the necklace in my neck
Who am I waiting for to be watched wistfully?
For whom am I waiting with such burden?
Let me cast aside the inner layers beneath my phanek
Let my blood flows along the smooth of my thighs
With a freedom that it has never known
Beyond all shame let it be seen by you all.
Why my breasts are being bound so with such tightness
Is it the crime of shedding the divine milk?
They say it's a pair of divine beauty.
Divinity! Oh you always comes with chains
Who has thrown me a piece of veil?
Veil be cast aside,
It is your gaze, it's your sense
What have I and my veil got to do with it?
Your feet I touched that day in the public
In this silent night u kiss my feet
Tell me whose feet are pure and who's impure.
Oh! What is this purity somebody tell me?
A dip in the Ganges of 'sin'
A silent confession in front of a sinner
A nikah that ends with three 'talaqs'
A marriage solemnized by an illiterate priest
Purity made of all impurities.
* Poem written by Shreema Ningombam. You can check more on her blog This poem was webcasted on Arpil 02, 2010.
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