Asha And Forty Men Poem by Maria Rose

Asha was raped
By forty men.
Uncountable times, she said.
She was pregnant
With rage,
Disappointment
And an unwanted child.
My fellows (honourable they are)
Expected her to raise the child
With all her motherly instincts
As every women should.
She felt ashamed of herself
And aborted it to the shock of my people.
They shuddered to hear the news.
The whole State turned in their bed
And couldn’t sleep for days.
What impudence! They said.
What a crime! They wanted to strangle her.
Seminars and meetings were held
To discuss her deed.
By the time
The forty men melted into my fellows
And couldn’t be recognized
And separated.

As the culprits went free
My fellows drew out conclusions
In Barber shops and teashops
“It is not their faults” they said,
“She tempted them”. That’s it
“Let it be a lesson for all tempting woman”

Fortunately, she didn’t wait
To hear the verdict.
Somebody visited her at the hospital.
She died.
Naturally.
Then we had her name.
Quite naturally.
So ended a life only to be
Canonized after centuries.