Amidst all gender discrimination
causing constant conflict
A new woman was born with true grit
who secured the foetus of a girl child
behind her might
She didn't know what courage looks like
While resisting family pressure
for pre-natal sex determination
The voiceless soul
grew spine like firm banyan roots
and turned cold
Senses, impulses, responses,
nothing was beyond control
The fears were crushed on the fringes
of long scary night
She didn't know what courage looks like
She wondered,
How the world is designed differently for us,
The strange life of a girl didn't change much
But she was conscious
about her daughter's right to education
She knew nothing of courage and determination
Knew nothing except
that her daughter can't be denied
what she missed in life
The dreams in her eyes
can't be killed one more time
She was illiterate
But she could change her daughter's fate
She didn't know what courage looks like
But she did fight
Shutting all the noise outside
to listen to her inner voice.
Bio
Pragya Bajpai, Ph. D. is a proud mother, poet, artist, and an academic from India. Her debut book of poems is based on 51 English proverbs titled A Potpourri of Proverbs (2021). She has co-edited two bilingual anthologies titled Unkahi: The Unsung (2021) and The Force is With Us (2022) to celebrate the armed forces. She has also co-edited a collection of Hindi poems called Dabe Paanv (2022). She is editor and designer of an international e-zine, Brahmand: Voice of the Cosmos. Her poems have appeared in several national and international anthologies. Email: pragyabajpai@gmail.com & Instagram: pragyabajpai29
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