Lakshmi

The world lies in a frozen slumber,

Not a soul stirring for miles on end.

She rises up from the decrepit bed,

A far cry from the soft sheets

And the warmth of her bed at home.

They say this is her home now.

The stars overlooking the backyard garden

Grow fainter with the dawn sneaking in.

The end of the sari draped over her head

Flutters away in the breeze,

She stumbles -

Her mother never let her walk barefoot

Inside her house, no less into the wilderness.

Who knew what beasts were lurking in the shadows! -

Holding the basket close in one hand

To keep the fresh blossoms from falling

To the earth moist with dew,

As she covers her head with the other

Before her bare head be seen

By some early-riser

Out to get some fresh morning air.

She remembers her father’s proud smile

And her mother’s gentle touch on her head

While her teachers praised her intelligence.

The henna on her hands

Has faded to the same shade

As the stalks of singhar she plucks

To offer the Goddess.

The yellow oleanders collected in her basket

Remind her of the crown and garlands

She and her friends made

When they were children.

The memory seems to be from another life.

Today she looks alight

From the glitter of the golden trinkets

Adorning her face,

A red bindi centred at her forehead

Looking like a miniature of the rising sun

Which now casts its first rays

Upon her dolled up form.

The gemstone ornaments

Resting on her limbs

Feel like shackles

Weighing her down

As she tries to reach for the higher boughs.

A branch snaps

And babblers and mynahs fly away

Creating a ruckus.

She envies them at that moment.

They can sing and fly all they want

And still get to shout at her

For causing even a little inconvenience,

While she lost her voice and fight

The day she saw scars and tears

On the face of the older sister-in-law,

Abandoned by all to her fate

After she tried to reason with the matriarch

That she was a human too

Unlike the tireless robot they thought her to be.

Oh, but how everyone adores the new bride!

They call her Lakshmi;

She knows it’s just a matter of time

Before they begin pestering her for more gold

Like they do with the Goddess

And even the older woman,

Though the latter is not fortunate enough

To be called upon so reverently.

She listens and does all asked of her

With not a word of dissent,

Even as her mind is far away,

Busy thinking of the strategy ahead,

Waiting for the right time and place

And the right people who would listen

And bring them the human treatment

She and the older woman deserve,

Without a care as to what their families

Would have to endure.

Inside the hall of worship,

She sits with her head bowed and hands folded,

Lips moving in silent prayer.

She pleads with the Goddess

For strength and patience

And a good sense for all.

And asks that in her next birth,

She be made a bird,

Free to sing and roam around as she pleases,

That if given too much trouble,

She would fly away into the boundless sky.