This Poem won me A Special Jury Mention at BTB Rhythmic Affairs 2023.
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Chastised for What Fault?The mist rises over the faraway mountains,Gentle showers drench the parched earth.I make my way out into the slushy streets,Puddles swash around me, I smile devoid of mirth.Oh, how they throw me glances of disdain,Their tongues click, their lips whisper.“Where’s she off to, soaked in rain?”Unabashedly she trots, has she no shame?”I walk ahead, heedless of their glares,Their jibes seldom cause me agony,I trudge my way to the scenic Sunset Point,My heaven and my abyss, my life’s irony.My fingers caress the cobblestone benches,Our special place, testimony to our amour,Our clandestine meetings, those stolen kisses,Until that fateful day, when it rained.Little did we know, we were being trailed,If only we had heard them sneak upon us,I now wince, our cries for help still echo,I shut my eyes, oh, the wounds are afresh.Of the pounding, he endured salvaging my pride,Of the trauma, I bore, being groped and defiled.We lay on the deserted alley, cold and wet,Many an hour flew until help came by,The downpour drowned our screams and their faces,The heinous crime went unwritten, family honour held high.Foolish I was, my pain I assumed had passed,No angst though is bitter than that of being spurned.Doting uncles and aunts, cousins, and best mates,Now stony as ice, my pleas to reach out never returned.He, who I entrusted with undying love,Was never to be heard of again.I was unchaste, an outcast, the town folk proclaimed.Their eyes bore into mine, my very soul.None of them count, but you, Ma Baba,You presume I erred, in my tryst with my beau?Defenceless I was when they ravished me,Don’t turn your back, who do I have but you?The sun sets at Sunset Point, the hills stand tall,Mute on-lookers as ever, witness to my fall.
