I Was Born With Several Diseases Poem by Prathibha Nandakumar

I was born with several diseases
And thought that was the normal way

I played the flute with lips
That bled at every hole
And the violin where
The fingers came away

My feet crushed to a pulp
While I danced while
Michael sang blood on the dance floor
I was hard of hearing
As the pus oozed out
Even as I wore the heavy
Diamonds and rubies

The exotic silks that I wore
were the bandages to my body
and as I opened up my thighs
I died a million deaths

And survived thinking
This is life and this is heaven
And this is the true bliss
Of being a woman.