Versification of pain

 

Is it necessary to bleed every month?

parts of me shedding away,

how much of me remains when everything is lost.

it's been a decade to that day now,

i am no longer her- afraid and ashamed.

checking for the stains on her school dress

she knew she had done a grave mistake-

of being born or being born as a girl?

she cried for days ,

she lamented for her pious self ,

who didn't get punished this way.

she hid herself behind her long skirt which carried her stains

over time, she grew, she grew beautifully

with a heart full of empathy 

and a mind full of optimism

she knew she didn't deserve the bad things

but it was in these moments 

she saw HER.

Her eyes were bright,

and it was love that she could ignite

in the hearts of those who met her or heard of her-

in the love letters, or the tiny bits of note

she left behind.

like an old lover's fond memories

she keeps coming back to me every now and then.

she speakes to me,

in my moments of distress.

she tells me to believe that everything is fine,

and the child who was 11 when she bled for the first time; smiles.

Asmita

January 2026