The rose that bloomed

I AM FREE

You have held me close for so long…

That now I can no longer breathe.

O please, don’t ask me what has gone wrong,

Or hold my hands and make me sit…

For now, I am tired of being held, 

Of being trained or restrained.

Do you see that bird?

Yes the one flying with its wings apart.

I could have been that ,

But alas my wings are clipped.

I could have been that rose in your garden

Blooming in all its exuberance 

Or that lotus in your pond..

But you nipped me off even before I could yearn.

Now you shall tell me the world is too mysterious for me to learn,

But remember I am like that last leaf clinging on its branch,

Before the cruel wind of autumn makes it fall.

I am a sewali  lying on the dew covered field,

Emanating fragance till you trample me down with your feet;

Or maybe pick me up and take me along,

To soothe your senses until I wither and wilt.

I can be a mother, a daughter or a wife.

I can be everybody, but now I am nobody.

I am the harbinger of a new life,

But you have made me feel living is a strife.

Oh, now are you asking me who am I?

Well, I could be that girl you met on a date,

Or that wretched ragpicker on the street.

I could be the ravishing diva in your favourite TV show,

Or I could be the maid who comes to  mop your floor.

I could be an artiste, a journalist, a doctor or a teacher.

But whoever I am , I am now liberated.

The shackles of your patriarchy no longer binds my feet,

For they have now found their rhythm and beat.

And now I shall dance..

Dance to the pattering drops of rain on my roof,

To the music of the wind chimes that rattles with the breeze.

And you can no longer hold me back, 

Nor can you judge me with that narrow lens of your eyes.

For today, I AM FREE!!!