The Blade of the Rose

In a world desecrated by loathing and lust,

she stands as civilization's last beacon of hope.

In an unfair race run by rancorous men,

with profound dignity and grace does she gallop.

Perseceuted and manipulated for countless ages,

she went through it all with a humiliating muteness.

Peeved by the barbaric brutality of the stronger sex,

she was forcefully tamed and rendered speechless.

God blessed her with such a breathtaking beauty,

that ships sailed and wars were fought in her name.

But then she was turned into a toy for amorous men,

and played about with them dictating the rules of the game.

As a mother, she housed you for nine months in her womb,

and then showered you with a love so ferociously pure.

As a wife, she blindly supported all that you undertook,

and then stood by you through all that you had to endure.

As a sister, she tied her prayers to your wrist,

and let you become the luckier of the two siblings.

As a daughter, she did for you all that a son could,

but still failed to garner the best of your feelings.

Today, she has proven that she has all that it takes

to confront the wicked world and find her place in it.

And yet, we still grudge her that lawful equality,

and prevent her dark life from ever getting lit.

Her every breath has been a veiled cry of anguish,

as she yearned for a chance to give her dreams a chase.

But now she is indeed making her presence felt,

and getting ready to bid adieu to those accursed days.

Yes! She is rising...like some phoenix of heathen lore - 

Rising beyond the injustice that had crippled her all these years.

She is finally breaking free from the cocoon of coercion,

and learning to conquer the very worst of her fears.

She is waking up from that paralyzing ignorance,

that had eased her into a wretched life of submission.

No longer will she be subservient to his lechery - 

nothing will now deter her from defining her ambition.

Do not seek to resist this rebellion...

Do not snatch back this moment of triumph from her.

Do not make her go through hell once again...

Do not deny her the right to progress and prosper.

- NISHANK MEHTA

   30.05.2009

This blog proudly supports the Government of India's 'Beti Bachao' Andolan. Although this poem is techinically not about saving the girl child, it does deal with the issue of woman empowerment which, I believe, is the root matter to be dealt with. An enhancement in the status of women will automatically mean a safer and happier future for the girl child.