Fiction & PoetryPoetry

Poem | Scorn

With the ‘little girl’ of a decade ago grown into a woman today, what resides in the depths of her memory, refusing to fade or budge? The News Dare publishes a new poem that seeks to voice the angst women in India—and almost everywhere else—often deal with in their own ways.

An oil pastel painting by the poet, Sushmita Gupta.
By
Sushmita Gupta

A crown of plumes,
Too heavy
For my and your baby’s head.
Her painted eyes
Hold storms of tears
She cannot shed.
Her silence weighs,
Weightier than her years.
A patchwork of secrets
Cast long and ugly shadows of fear.
In reflection of the vanity mirrors
Stands your little girl and mine,
Forced into a womanhood,
Carved in depravity and terror,
Normalised and deemed fine.
The plush feathers
Sway with betrayal and scorn.
What is lost is gone.
Can we not even bestow dignity,
If nothing else,
To my girl and yours?
Bring redressal, rightfulness and rectitude,
Publicly, boldly, overtly,
For agonising violations
Covertly carried on,
And on and on.

Send your comments on this poem to editor@newsdare.com.

ABOUT THE POET

Sushmita Gupta

 

Bengaluru-based Sushmita Gupta is an artist and poet. She is also a veteran healer, working with modalities such as reiki, hypnotherapy, past life regression, Akashic Records reading, and neuro-linguistic programming.

 

 

Editors' Picks

More like this
Related

World

43 dead, dozens missing after illegal tap on Niger delta pipeline turns fatal

The episode is only the latest in a long-running pattern of deadly pipeline tapping across the Niger Delta, a swampy, resource-rich region that has powered Nigeria's economy for generations.
India

Man who called himself ‘kattar Hindu’ and bragged that he ‘cracked the skull’ of CJP protester’s father is detained by cops

Swatantra Bharadwaj, a 21-year-old Hindutva influencer, was heard saying in a podcast that he was not arrested despite his murderous attack on CJP protester Nishu Azad’s father. “I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was out and about through the night,” he said.
Wellness

What is mahamantra? When chanted with faith, it is said to quieten the mind and help reshape the self

A buffer against fear, and relief from mental burden are among the perceptible and verifiable benefits the chanting of the mahamantra brings. Staunch believers say it works like the wind clears storm clouds, and sunrise dissolves darkness.
News

Nepal: Pulled out from 170 m underground after 9 days, hydropower worker says mahamantra helped him survive

The two men were among hundreds of workers who vanished after the glacial collapse wreaked havoc in Nepal along its border with China on August 26. The disaster has so far claimed at least 1,280 lives, with more than 5,500 people still missing.
World

Tim Cook steps back, but Apple keeps him close

Apple transitions leadership as John Ternus assumes CEO role, while Tim Cook remains executive chair guiding strategy globally.
Humour Articles

Snore Wars: The Chatterjee Express

A sleepy train, a senior couple, and Tiya’s innocent honesty create a scenario that becomes truly irresistible.
World

Nepal flood: Behind casualty figures (1,269) and rescue statistics lie painful stories of isolation and despair

Survivors of Nepal's massive flood are not just grieving individuals; they are grieving the loss of an entire social ecosystem that once made loneliness almost impossible in these tightly-knit hill communities. For Nepalis working abroad, the flood has produced a distinct and painful form of solitude: watching the catastrophe unfold on a phone screen.
India

TMC’s office in Kolkata attacked; Mamata says will demonstrate outside BJP leaders’ residences in Delhi

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee says it was BJP workers who attacked and vandalised the party's Camac Street office. Party MP Mahua Moitra alleged Kolkata Police did not respond to calls for help.