Unheard Voice

I broke your rules by smearing the red and yellow

on my face.

Hear me now, am stepping forward on this ‘Holi’

to see your poor face.

One day, after my puberty, a person was

introduced to me as my husband.

What? I got married? But when and at what age?

The unanswered questions; I can’t suspend.

No colors, no flowers, no sindoor, no jewelry

and no hair; new rules within a month.

Why the hell I should look unattractive for a man’s demise

Whom I knew for just one month.

Confused! How is it possible?

death of a man;

makes a woman, a symbol of

bad omen;

Education, career, peace, celebration, identity

These are all the things, I lost in my life.

Will you be able to repay this to me, or

at least tried to give me a relief?

But am not such cruel as like you

my dear brother,

I won’t restrict you to celebrate festivals

though you are a widower.

Cover your face with these colors and

change the color of your dark mind.

Thank you, after 60 years of my widowhood,

you are hearing my voice from my mind.

Remember we are also humans and we have all the rights

to live in this world.

No one has rights to decide our life style and

Don’t try to create a widow world.

The unheard voice of this 80-year-old woman,

will support thousands of daughters and granddaughters.

To all my sons and grandsons, just turn back and

see your own grandmother’s painful widowhood.

Celebrate this Holi with colors not from outside

but from inside of your heart.

If you have a surviving wife in your home,

treat her normal, don’t make her apart.