The play.

Knock knock!

Who’s there? It’s a girl.

Sighs, cries, shame: HER.

Colour palette, all the shades.

Skin tone: medium fair.

Turmeric, sandal, fuller’s earth

Can be tamed.

Tick tock goes the clock

And now what shall we play?

Doll house and kitchen set.

Is football a game?

Walking around the neighbourhood,

Flaunting her dress yesterday,

Devils eyes, itch and greed

Undressed her,

Took all the glee away.

Hicory dicory dock

The mouse ran up the clock

The clock struck puberty

Springtime took a break.

Red. Red. Red. Red.

Day one, day two, day three, day four.

Untouchable. Once every month.

What fate!

Tick.

Tock.

There goes the clock.

Another year, month and day.

The dreams to fly and reach for the stars

“sky’s the limit” they say.

All sayings and metaphors

Literally!

Oh! The dismay.

Dreamer, idealist, visionary

All the secrets and sin

Entombed between the pages of her diary

Is all that she could have been.

Hicory dicory dock

The mouse ran up the clock

The heart sang a ballad

Of love,

That’s what she thought!

Clap! Clap! Clap!

All the curtains raised

Sneakily, surreptitiously

The ‘society’ barged in

In the one person play.

Obtruding its ‘rules’ on her

Of decency, morality and propriety

It played a dirty game.

Delimitating her.

“Safekeeping” her.

Can’t talk, touch, kiss or lay.

Talked with a few

Touched some

But with one she lay.

Ho. Whore. Slut. Pimp.

Stature brutally slayed.

Befriend a girl, marry a boy

Why does it have to be that way?

Animals. Humans. Where’s the line?

Reproduction: the ultimate aim?

Tick tock the clock will go on

Till when shall we play?

With hearts

With minds

With trust

With beliefs

And all the fucking things.

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Woman: Goddess with a thousand faces.

Fierce, strong, independent

I’ve seen it all without going places.

With the universe between my legs

And the light in my soul

I’ll conquer, I’ll rule

Come what may.

I’ll drink, I’ll dance

I’ll kiss, I’ll lay

With whom my heart stays.

No boundaries

No shackles

No chains

No ropes

For the world is mine to take.