Layered truths

The night calls out, wanting to take me in its fold. It holds dark secrets

Patriarchy, injustice, un-blossomed buds, unfulfilled dreams, muffled voices

Those voices warn me not to come in

just to become another relic in a dark history glorified as culture.

“Some of us lived in darkness, some saw the light but were blindfolded and dragged inside

You hold on to that tiny piece of a sunbeam in your palm. And let it take you like a genie

to places you have dreamed of, places you can be,

notwithstanding gender, religion, caste or any other value-set that is not uniquely yours.

Let them not glorify our patience, our sacrifices – for we were held forcibly in those places

like that woman who committed sati, but her last screams were muffled by the vested interests around.”

I ask my sunbeam if it is true, and it blinks – you will have to discover it

There are many layers in each – slavery or freedom.

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MTB – Zuihitsu