I am Born Again…By Sunaina

The splendor of the fortress lures me not

For I hear the cries nobody has heard

Of faces nobody has seen

Of souls that were not let in this world

It was good they were not born here

Yes, this is not the place to be

The walls are high and impregnable

They know not love, they know not sympathy

They are heartless, relentless

They care not for me, or for you

They stink of ideologies that are dated

They emit foul stench of a gory past

They are stifling, suffocating

But they cannot trap me again

I once was meant to be born there too

To my lovely mother who weeps alone

In the corner of her room

Tears shed for me and my sisters

Tears shed for her unborn daughters

Tears shed for her children who were murdered

My fingers itch to wipe her tears

But I cannot reach her

I want to set her free

I want to liberate her soul from the callous tyrants of her home

They see her as just a vessel

To carry their blind dreams

Of sons, of legacy, of lineage

Could I not have done the same?

This place is darker than death

This place is gloomier than hell

No, hell it is, if there be any

Devils they are, if there be any

When they set me free, they thought they had killed me

But they failed

The walls that could not cage my spirit now stand motionless

They can no longer hold captive my soul

I see a ray of light in a nearby village

The trees that sway there beckon me

Their leaves tell a saga of happiness and hope

I fly there

A home waits for me

Yes, they wait for my birth

Yes, they wait for the birth of their daughter

To this place I will go

In this place I will stay

A place where humanity lives

My only regret is for the mother in the fortress

Who can see no light

I hope she is born again here

In this place where they love, yes, love daughters

Where walls are made of love, not rage

Where hearts are not hostile to daughters

I can speak no more

For my time has come

To be born

This time to be born to be loved

I go

I call other sisters too

They will follow me to this village

To this haven

To this heaven

Come see me there

Where I will fly like a bird

And sing like a lark

See you there

I go

I go

I am born again...... 

I was inspired to write this poem after reading about female foeticides in the state of Rajasthan. Two things stood out in my mind. One was the village Devra where daughters had not been born for almost a century and the other was the village Rajasmand which found a unique way of celebrating the girl child. I wrote this poem from the perspective of a daughter who is unborn. You can read more on this in my post here

https://meredeshkimitti.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/winds-of-change-embracing-the-girl-child/

About me

I am a stay-at-home mother of two kids. I hold an M Phil in English Literature from India. I taught in a college in Delhi for a brief time when I got married and came to US. I have recently started writing and maintain blogs that go by the name http://istoppedtosmellarose.blogspot.com/ and             https://meredeshkimitti.wordpress.com/. I also blog at and write articles for http://www.top10reviews.in/.

 I write short stories for children, poems and my take on everyday things in life. I take inspiration from my kids and love to read a good book. Life gives me ideas to write - it might be a kind gesture, a look of love, a tear-drop, a painting lying in a corner, an old couple walking hand in hand - they stimulate me to pick up the pen.

Image Credits : unsplash.com