Let Her Be

Leave that child
Let her be
Don't taint her mind
Don't take her side.

Let her explore
Don't slam her doors
Now that she's here
Let her not know fear.

Let her keep her head high
Let her also swallow her pride
Let her bawl all alone
And stay up whole nights.

Don't slap her cheeks
And don't stand beside
She might get knocked down
Let her sulk, let her try.

The world is cruel
People are unkind
Don't keep her warm
And do her more harm.

Let her walk away
Let her bloody stray
Let her body fall
To vultures, to prey.

Let her leave.
For now, bereave.
She will learn
And she will return.

Overnight she'll turn
From a girl, to a queen
Embrace her then
But until then, let her be.

Conversations

'You are beautiful',
she said
'To know what
beauty beholds,
look at yourself
through my eyes!',
nibbling her ears,
he sheepishly replied.

'I love you! Do you love me?'
She asked again,
He'd lost count of
how many times.
'More than you'd ever know'
But he stayed silent this time
And pulled her back instead,
into his warm embrace.

'I'm fatter than yesterday
My eyes are puffy
My clothes don't fit!'
Assuring no girl
was prettier than her -
he wiped away her tear.
And at the party she turned
Cinderella over night!

'But why is she pinging you?'
'She's again liked your pic!'
'Oh! She's on your last dialed?'
'I'm going to kill that bitch!'
He sat through her tantrums
Avoiding getting hit
He'd knew she'd come around
And apologise in a bit.

Choices

Where do I belong?
In the castle, or the sea?
The large fort keeps me safe
But in the salty waters, I'm at peace.

I wade through waters, deep
On my face, the cold breeze
And then, I miss the dry indoors
Its warmth which puts me, at ease.

At times, I fervently wish
I could choose neither of these
Disappear into the blue horizon
And simply cease to be.

Live

Listen. Embrace. Emote. Empathize. Trust. Care. Share. Speak up. Argue. Be truthful. Love. Hate. Hurt. Don't hurt. Kiss. Fight. Bite. Make up. Make love. Make friends. Be passionate. Sing. Open windows. Play. Enjoy the rains. Dance. Break a bone. Make coffee. Make someone's bed. Cry. Get your heart broken. Wait. Yearn. Earn it. Work hard. Be lazy. Laugh till you tear up. Be foolish. Be faithful. Make mistakes. Learn. Make new mistakes. Repeat. Repent your sins. Smile. Wake up happy, everyday. Stay positive. Be sad. Sleep. Make long phone calls. Watch that movie. Miss a few classes. A few meetings too. Dress up. Adore yourself. Suit up! Buy that shirt. That dress too! Wear those stilettos. More lipstick please! Eat more. Stress less. Pray! Meet a shrink. Write a poem. Some stories too. Cut a few ties. Make new bonds. Pet a dog. Heck, a cat too! Stand up. React. Support. Help someone fly. Pose for pictures. Take those selfies. Offer handshakes. Offer a seat. Some pizza too. Live life to the fullest! ♥

Move on

When do you move -

When your self worth is hit ~
Or when you no longer fit?

When the trust is lost ~
Or when you miss yourself the most?

When your tear glands have dried
Or when compassion has died?

When you feel nothing
Or when you question everything?

When you've said every word
Or when conversations stay unheard?

When silence creeps in
Or when noises never recede?

When you've lost more than you've gained
Or when you see no end to this game?

When you try reclaim your soul
But find only broken, hollow bones?

Nothing

I have nothing to offer
My nest is empty
My heart is too.

I have nothing to let go
No tears to drop
They've left me too.

I've nothing to share
My body is maimed
My mind is too.

I've nothing to be proud of
My youth is freckled
My conscience is too.

I've nothing to claim mine
My palms are barren
My dreams are too.

I've nothing to fall back on
With you gone,
My future has too.

MeToo

When we as young 25 year olds were summoned into a prominent ad agency head's cubicle and asked to line up for him to review. He wanted girls to be decked up in saree for the launch of the book on how his father build a prominent ad agency. I, along with a few others were asked to step aside because we were 'flat chests'.

When at an interview for a Client servicing role at another leading agency in Chennai the only questions I was asked were "Do you have a boy friend, do you drink, do you go pubbing?"

When working on Lotte Choco Pie pitch, the agency head kept joking to women in particular, that the 2 layers of biscuit and cream in between reminded him of 'something else'.

When I was told I was thin and my lack of a 'rounded full butt' made my trousers look pretty loose.

When working on a pitch for Mood condoms, the otherwise lazy agency head showed exceptional interest in personally conducting the survey with 'women' employees to understand more about their intimate experiences with the product.

When I was told I cannot handle a particular salon brand account because I lacked the beauty or personality for it (my way of revenge was to later get on board as the Pan India Marketing Head for the same salon brand).

When the client at a leading stationery brand, would refuse to acknowledge my face, and only talk to my chest.

So many stories. How many do we tell?

Why didn't we shame them, then and there? Because we were scared. Scarred. Shocked. Wanted the job. Wanted to retain the client. Were not sure of support. Were not sure if we were in this alone or others suffered it too.

And most of all, we were pretty sure that the first response would be, why bring it up? Konjam adjust pannikonga.

#MeToo