They ask

It was quite sudden, the uproar of WhatsApp status updates from my contacts yesterday. Repetitive screen shots of four words and a hashtag – we stand with you; #respecther. Soon the matter came to light, anonymous messages on a group page had led to the unravelling of a cascade of molestation charges against a senior. I mentioned it to two friends. Both of them reverted with the same question.. why now? With the world neck-deep in the Corona virus crisis, is this a good time? And in that moment I realized, questions are all that the world ever really offers someone who comes out with an ugly truth.

The Proposal

“Come away with me, love

Marry me..?”

Barely above a whisper

But the words rang clear

I looked down

Cheeks flushed

Ears burning

Heart thumping

Rage pumping

Indignation coursing

Through flesh and blood;

Complacency a woman’s virtue

They taught

Turn your back, ignore

They said

And I follow suit

Cheeks flushed

Ears burning

And eyes downcast

Even as the comments

Continue to rise

From the lewd mouth

Of a migrant

Selling cheap shades on the street,

Daunting,

Flaunting

His rights as a man

Over me,

As I walk away

Livid

But complacent

As taught.