1. A lone bower under the shining moon
And in the shade,
My heart sings like a beetle in monotone
My words are fire flies, hot thoughts cut them into pieces
Yet, I hear the incessant murmur of new born words Helen!
He promises paradise to you, do not listen
Your hands are the keys to all heaven
Kshetra-Beeja nyaya is a worn out logic of deceit
The die-hard patriarch spreads hell on the earth
2. Storm clouds of distress churn within,
Like lightning flashes, the thought waves
Daytime, that wall was naked white and clean
In the night it covered itself with dazzling slogans,
Soul is prisoner of the body
Prohibited are natural desires
Afraid that womanhood will pierce through him
He conceals his throbbing heart under a coat of mail
3. Rain of dollars, drenching male heads
Now, humanness is a coin, no more in circulation
It’s impossible to forget grandma, who thought
That the human heart is made of butter
Let us give milk to the snakes and fold hands in reverence
So that they would let us live, but why… why should we live?
Oh, just to present the skies with some shining sentences….
Thunder and lightning reign in the sky
Blood rains on the earth Shall we, then, elope?
4. East wind woke us, placed us in the war zone
West wind disturbs, to imprison in globalization
Time is running blindly angry
I look up for flickers of light in the angry clouds
The earthly scenes of childhood games
Sweet memories that help this life go on
Poems throw a lifeline to me in distress
Like the smiles on the lips of sleeping babies
Words of the men throw electronic nets over me
They are heartless and foreign to my nature.
Contributor:
S. JAYA. Co-ordinator, Anveshi Research Center for Women’s Studies. Has published a collection of short stories titled Rekkalunna Pilla, lady with wings, in 1998. Has worked as a journalist for nearly 20 years in various magazines. Many magazines and literature pages in newspapers published her poems and short stories. Worked as a full time activist and editorial board member for Vimochana, for eight years. Was a member of Revolutionary Writers Association. Worked for Nalupu,. the first dalit magazine in Telugu, as working editor.
