My dream was to be a Jane Austen - or a Virginia Woolfe, whose 'stream of consciousness' touched the world,
or Kadambari - the muse who inspired the Bard in Bengali Literature.
a few fearless women -
Debjani, and Gandhari, and Draupadi, from Indian classics,
but before anyone else,
I want to be the woman who appears in my dream!
never went to school, she was not allowed,
picked up any paper when sweeping the floor,
and read - she was warned - women became widows if they read,
she was unstoppable!
she had ten kids - two still-births,
she cooked for thirty people every day, ate after she fed everyone,
she hand-knitted blankets, to keep children warm,
prayed every day for everyone she knew
and for the universe.
my grandmother, and so many women like her,
started a revolution, carried the torch,
Without realizing the legacy they left for us,
the burden they lifted for us!
did they see us - the women of today
in the horizon?
the modern, liberated, emancipated women,
we are today,
we go to school and choose our career,
we decide to marry or not, who to marry,
we raise our children with confidence,
we don't ask for money, we earn money,
we lead, we invent, we do miracles.
sorry Jane Austen, I would rather be my Grandma's granddaughter,
before anyone else!
Thank you so much for reading the poem again! Your comments inspire me!
Such a significant and noble poem of the day. Congrats, dear Ma’am Malabika on your chosen piece...10+++
This is the second time this poem has been chosen as POD on August 8,2020. I am getting a lot of inspiring comments from other poets to my email address. Surprisingly and unfortunately, I don't see any of the comments on this page. Feeling really sad that I am not able to reply to those beautiful messages. I have informed PH administration, and they have assured me that the problem will be taken care of. Thanks to all members for their support.
Oh how beautifully presented the vitality of a woman, there is no doubt that a woman is stronger than anybody else if empowered and understood properly she can do miracles.......very touching as well as inspiring 10++
A wonderful poem! Many congratulations for this fabulous poem being featured as Poem of the Day!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Those women of a former generation were wise beyond their years. A wonderful poem. Absolutely appropriate for this category.
Thank you, Jane. I wrote this poem on International Women's Day.