Fresh Flames...

I have got the Jasmines and the chrysanthemums

And the white roses and Lilies for your bosom

That now rests silently in the grave, covered in brown.

And the dust gathered over the woods!

You have seen the tumultuous waves of endless torture

Of your body being maligned by men – they claim to have the right

To measure your worth over your physique!

The night was brutal and each moment was painful;

Yet you survived the grim and gory hour!

Canons of waters splashed in the streets

As a Nation awoke from its slumbers

From the dead and deafening doze

Of nightmares and solitude!

Tears flowed and met others on the way

Who dared to share your dream!

Who moved from pillar to poles!

Throwing colours of change on the streets

That halted only at passing smart vehicles

With red beams!

Each candle lit for a new dawn

Each flame lit with a hope

Every voice was an outcry against

The system that gives birth and

Space to such hideous act…

Over the macabre of dust and wax

Over the grave of hope and fear

Rested a word – awake!

Your flight to a new life,

Your flight to freedom,

Your dream of a new journey

Began --- and halted?

Who are you --- a voice, a shape, a shadow?

Of delight, of pain, of remembrances, of sorrow

Of fear, of distress, of joy and ecstasy, of regret ---

To be born as a women among men?

To be thankful to let to live in peace,

Really; and shyly, in the stillness and quietness of

Mournful silence!

The early hour of the day break was dark, and bright,

As you met your creator in flames, dead, still and yet

Shaking each conscience that boasted of

Freedom at midnight; and as the rays of the sun

Carried the ashes, piercing each heart and soul ---

A thousand flames rose into the widening sky ---

Jolting in the fear and predicament of hope and fury;

A thousand rays split the waves of stillness and silence!

Each candle blazed in the flames!

My jasmines and roses and chrysanthemums are still fresh