Let Me Be Free Poem by Sreeja Sreedharan

Let me be free, Cries a voice within,
Mind in shackles, numb with pain.
Encaged in convictions, hands bound tight,
Not by self, but by strangers around, might.
Born in the form on Venus, I were,
A shame to the parents, waiting for an heir.
A burden I was bound to be,
“A curse”, they said, unheard of pleas.
A Son, they hoped for, to hold high, the name,
To bring home, pride, elation and fame.
Alas, born was a daughter, what a shame!
To send her away, decked, end of the game.
A daughter, mother and wife, just, they said I was to be,
A girl, to think otherwise, a shame it’d be.
Woman, a toy to play with, they say and then leer.
My pleas, ruthless, arrogate, they jeer.
Coy, demure, humble; a picture perfect frame,
Have been made, my race for, so they claim.
Pawned for a game, traded for penny,
A victim forever; assaults, abuse many.
“No! ” I cry out, in my new found voice.
Not just that, Woman, icon of strength and poise.
A daughter, wife and mother, I would be,
Yet my dreams, fulfilled, I wanted to see.
To live my dreams, to reach for the stars,
To hold my head high, to walk without fears.
A daughter who serves, a sister who loves,
A wife who cares, a mother who bears.
Women, many roles played in life,
Bestower of love, the family – crux, she strives.
Smiling through the tears, forgiving the worst,
Woman she is, you can trust.
Bound in shackles, yet I smile.
A woman I am, in tears, I will smile.
A bearer, carer, achiever, I, forever will be,
Woman I am, let me be free.