By Surjeet Kalsey
I am a woman
and I like to be a woman.
The tradition wants me to be
a pathological servant and serve
the thankless, or be
an incarnation of a goddess
and stop being a woman.
There is no place in between
two extremes: whore and goddess.
I am none of either.
I stand vertical, with my own head
on my shoulders, my own self.
My journey begins from within.
There’s an azure sky spread open
there’s earth’s deep toleration and
creating, nurturing, growing within,
mighty determination of mountains within,
tranquility of the ocean,
cool and healing within
moon and the stars shine within
my body and soul take a dip in the warmth
of the dawning shimmering rays of the sun
I live. My spirit breathes the fresh air within.
I walk within my self and myself takes over:
I refuse to fit in the square boxes of
your fragile thoughts that enslave women
in traditional and docile roles
to serve and to stay peripheral.
I assert that I am a woman of krishma.
My inner strength comes from within
and reflects on my forehead from within.
Strong is free. I deserve. I am centered.
My words that speak to me are inspiring,
will rustle with the wind, yawn out with the Sun
will become the scriptures of silence:
my unspoken laments of my
pulsating, throbbing heart.
Kali is within me: the goddess of creation
who could create endless goodness
and destroy endless evil from the earth.
Lakshmi is within me: the goddess of wealth
and prosperity, whose slightest touch could bring
unlimited wealth on earth, blooming the nature
plantation and restoring the vegetation.
Chintapurni is within me: the healing goddess
frees everybody from worries, despair and pain.
She heals the most hurt and revitalizes energies.
Latanwali Jawalaji is within me: the goddess of
sacred fire that brings freshness, and cleans the soul,
body and mind from contaminations of the world.
It brings warmth and cleanliness in the air.
Naina Devi is within me: the goddess of vision
gives insights and brings awareness.
Sarswati Devi is within me: the goddess of
wisdom, knowledge and intellect. She blesses
the seekers with intellect and wisdom.
Woman contains the wisdom and holiness
of all the writings of the Vedas and Scriptures
Woman is an essence of all the goddesses.
She has all the karishma within.
I am in touch with myself and
the journey takes me to actualizing me,
my body, my mind and my soul. I hail
my spirit as a person, and as a human being.
I don’t intend to become a goddess,
nor shall I allow myself to be a demeaned object.
I allow my spirit to remain a woman. I stand vertical.
Hey! Your words are birds free and strong
soaring high in the free sky with your thoughts.
Words will remain echoing in the Universe.
…
Voiceless 