free woman video copyright by Swati Das
Channel: POETRY PLANET
Date: 2020-12-19

Free Woman
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Age old traditions
Outdated ideas
Archaic laws
Antiquated thoughts 
Are these for women only?

Some decide the length of the skirt 
Some decide home bound drudgery 
Some decide a veil
Some decide a ban on cosmetics 
Some decide clipping the wings!

The fate and destiny 
Of the woman 
In chains 
In a patriarchal parochial approach
And the bird sings
In captivity .

She sings of the open sky 
She hums the melody of the brook
She warbles like the cuckoo
She chants harmony 
She croons love .

Yet centuries have passed 
That she has been
Looted , robbed ,abused
The invaders have forced themselves 
Upon her 
The powers have pawned her 
Wars have been fought 
In her name .

Centuries of servitude 
Centuries of domination
Centuries of assault 
Centuries of subjugation 
Womanhood cries 
For breaking the chain.

The chain has demonized her 
The chain has muted her
The chain has eroded her
The chain has abrased  her.

And she has moaned silent 
Wept tearless 
Cried bondage 
Defied death 
Yet the chain 
Has remained
Sometimes clanking
Sometimes clinking
Sometimes glinting 
Like the gold chain 
On her neck!

Woman emancipation 
Has soared
Feminism has
Blared its bugle 
Yet the stories 
Of violence - domestic or otherwise
Fill the news pages !

Wake up , humanhood 
The woman is not a plaything 
Nor a prized possession 
She is dignity
She is beauty
She is earth
The cradle of growth.

It's time the age old chain
Is unshackled
Fair play and equality
The right norms
Embrace the blind .

Let there be a new woman
Free of fear
Free of abuse
Free of threat
Unchained , unshackled,
Unbound
Free from impositions
Unwanted , unwarranted.

Swati Das
Copyright reserved
18 Dec 2020