a year limps by in nano steps
as leela the widow
remains a prisoner
in the messy, confined core
of everyday struggle
carrying the burden
of invaded virginity
and ostracization,
leela the widow turns 16 today
in a faded white attire
the customary tears
dried up long ago
when destiny deceived
dazed emotions lost colour
through sinking sensations
on the painfully pious bridal night
when her glass-shattering shrieks
broke the consciousness
of the unity of her being
when oozing red spread its
slow tentacles to engulf
the fragments
of kaleidoscopic glass bangles
her dream-bangles
Leela the widow turned 16 today
As the candle of life
Burns at both ends
Leela continues to remain
The distorted face of tragedy
her silence has no secrets
monsoons do not sing
broken stories
pile up
into heaps
of abuse and abandon
as leela the widow turns 16 today
