As the empowerment week goes on, we want to share with you this piece of poetry written by Nalini Priyadarshni, an Indian feminist writer and editor. The poem sheds light on the topics of self-acceptance, self-love and self-presentation.
Ananku
Femininity that goes unaccepted remains unforgiving
vengeance of Kamakhya in month of Ashaad
Brahmaputra devoid of ichor
corroding muliebrity till it shrivels into a vestigial flicker
Decades later, when lovers celebrate your womanhood
you fail to find beauty in yourself
no matter how long you gaze at mirror
reflecting your glistening nakedness
after vigor of copulation
Half hearted attempts to love what you could not accept
does nothing to assuage the annihilation
you fostered in the pit of your womb
sown by the discontent of your mother at your birth
reiterated into a receptacle of guilt
that outweighs rings of smoke you blow
by rolling joints of any self esteem accrued
despite waging endless war with hirsutism
We don’t always get to choose our battles
certainly not those that start with
a blade wedged against our necks
but end them we must, with shakta striding atop
Femininity that goes unaccepted remains unforgiving
Embrace your power and uniqueness!
Check out this source for more amazing feminist poetry: https://thebasiloflaherty.weebly.com/feminists-poems.html