IRONY

Life breathes fear
Smoky and pungent
Choking
Like a bubbling acid
Scary, threatening.

Not a cry is heard
Nor a whimper is let out
Her voice fails in agony
In the clutches, of
Lust, exploitation
Betrayal, domination
In the name of honour, gender
Tradition, rituals
In the garb of faith
Unleashing horror
In the open
Sometimes in safe havens
Trusted brethren become brutal
Barbaric!

Reduced to a shredded soul
She lives a victim
Of a million deaths
As a spectacle for stony silences
That feast on this shame.

The conch is blown
Invoking the divine
Chants of Kali, Durga, Chandi echo
Welcome Home! Goddess
To the land of demons.