Theme: Rape

They Tore the Petals of a Budding Flower

Light breaks when darkness sets  in
Drop by drop. On the Highroad that glitters with neon light,
Love begins when the words of farewell were uttered

And Damini, you are not alive in spite of all the fight.

Never will it be uttered Damini
You cried it out in the cursed bus, Save me, anybody there?
But they tore the petals of a budding flower
When the Delhi Gurgaon Highroad was slippery
With your blood, loud with your cries in the moonless night
Reverberating all over there…
But they dared to tear the budding flower.

You gave the fight and they killed you Damini
They killed womanhood, the mother, daughter, the sister in you
All in one night… just one night.
Horrible it is to see a lover trying to save his beloved
Who is being raped and killed before his eyes
More horrible it is when all shouts for help
Were drowned in the gloom of the night.

“The waves dash to the seashore to throw the sand
My heart begins beating when you promise to take me to
the broad bright land.” -
The lover will never say these words to your ears Damini,
You are dead, You are killed, You are gone far away tonight.

Flowers bloom when the air stops blowing
and the petals slowly drop from the buds
in silence
Old ships return when the new ones
sail out for new islands.
You had been the symbol of love and service to people

But Damini, you are no longer alive
You are now a piece of flesh that Shylock wants
But there was no Portia to come to your rescue
On the Delhi Highroad, the night was all dark
And neon light still burns but to give no light.

Darkness, O horrible darkness! Everywhere
The angels keep their wings soaring high
No light nowhere, the morning is darker than the night
A woman is killed, a mother, a sister also killed
And the angels too felt shy, nervous and agonised

Note: The poem is written on the Delhi Gang Rape of a young female doctor

25-Jan-2013

More By  : Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee

Views: 1375     Comments: 0


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