CAN YOU HEAR ME SHRIEK?


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From the womb of the barren earth

In the rumble of the cataclysmic quakes

That  flattens the skyscrapers and shanties alike

I wail in vain, proof of my chastity

For i am Sita

Can you hear me?

From the stony silence of the mountains

In the devastating deluge of an avalanche

That wipes away all remnants of my trespassers

I plead in mute agony my innocence

For i am Ahalya

Can you hear me?

From the alluring  casinos of Vegas

In the roll of the dice of destiny

That reduces a prince to  pauper

I rage against  the rape of my dignity

For i am Draupadi

Can you hear me?

From the shores of a foreign sea

In the devastating destruction of a tsunami

That washes away all traces of humanity

I lament in agony my abandonment

For i am Yashodara

Can you hear me?

From the gory pages of history

Written in blood tipped quills of patriarchy

In the strangulated  pleas of a Nirbhaya

I shriek and shriek and shriek

For i am every woman

Can you hear me?

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DOEL

22 Comments

  1. Beautifully penned, Doel! I have always been irked by the shlok of ‘Pratah smarneeya panch kanya’ and why not, my Mom’s Dadi had a problem with that! So, it’s in blood. I had written about these 5 during my blogging days and had incorporated Nirbhaya too! To see them all in your poem made me happy to see more n more women empathizing and understanding the nuanced injustice of patriarchy. You have penned it with admirable sensitivity and softness. 👏👏

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