Red Blood or Blood Red

Yuck! That red stain visible on the skirt is disgusting.

Yet, the blood-stained handkerchief or a bib,

On a riot-stricken road, doesn’t raise an eyebrow,

As the crowd goes blind and scurries away.

.

What’s worse! The women themselves,

Often the educated, that too, in science stream,

Raise hue and cry over bloody talks and marks,

And, baffle the already befuddled girls.

.

The taboos, still bind the poor girls,

Dispirited as if committing a crime,

Bringing disgrace to their own families

By bleeding every month.

.

Such is the extent of hypocrisy,

Where every woman should produce a son,

But throughout her growing years,

Is castigated and shamed for a natural cause.