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A Goddess Speaks

A protest poem, by Shernaz, celebrating Goddess Durga, for Different Truths.

glorified as the ‘divine feminine’
I bleed
with the honour of the raped
 
 incense sticks burn before me
I burn
on dowry pyres
 
 sacrificial offerings lie at my feet
I perish
in honour killings
 
 prayers for longevity rise up to me
I crumble
with aborted foetuses
 
hopes and desires seek fulfillment
I die
with the dreams of the exploited
 
revered in the sanctum sanctorum
I vanish
in voiceless protests of the abandoned
 
adorned, adored, idolised in stone
I grieve
reviled, defiled, mortified in living temples

(March 17, 2011, First published in boloji.com as editor’s choice: http://tapestrypoetry.webs.com/ ) 

Visual by Different Truths

4 Comments Text
  • Roopali, thank you for reading. We can only hope that more people, particularly the ones who need it most will hear the Goddess speak.

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