Imagination Unlocked

No More Silence

I speak, therefore you hear,

What I face throughout my life,

In the hands of relatives, distant and near

And yet I'm careful to avoid a strife.

I speak sometimes, not with my voice,

For my eyes say it all,

I know you see the message in them,

You see how my moods rise and fall.

I speak through action,

My body is the proof of it,

It has become a burden under exhaustion,

Do you see the hurt and anger it emits?

I've been a child, a spouse, a parent,

I've tried to satisfy whoever I met,

But I never earned anything in return,

Neither kindness not respect.

I perceived myself to be flawed,

When I got hostility and scorn,

But after I received those permanent scars,

My whole identity was torn.

There is nothing more I'm left with,

Nothing that I'm scared to lose,

Therefore I'll speak, and now with my voice,

I'll be the one to choose.

It was fear that drove me

To remain silent about my choice,

Now that I've conquered this fear

Everyone shall hear my voice.

Since I'm no longer alone in my cause,

I shall bring our plight to the surface,

There shall no longer be deaf ears

And there shall be no more silence.

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I wrote this poem on International Women's Day at the Centre of Women's Studies in my University. It was a poem competition and participants were asked to write in their preferred language, among English, Hindi and Tamil. I got the second prize in the English category. The one who got first prize also wrote a poem with a really powerful message and I'm very happy for both of us.
Coming to the content of my poem, I haven't explicitly stated that it's from a woman's perspective because I believe it is not just women who experience domestic violence. However, my bias of course was towards women, mainly because it was Women's Day. Domestic violence is something I've seen women face everyday around my hometown, specially among people coming from the lower socioeconomic background. Husbands beat their wives, wives throw knives at their husbands, in-laws poison the wives' food and so on. Yes, it's totally like a Hindi soap drama. But the situation is not good for women because even today, many women are not allowed to work and they're totally dependent on their husbands financially. Hence they cannot come out of the abusive relationship. Physical and psychological abuse is quite common in my country and women are often silenced by others through various means, not to report the abuse. I hope through this poem, you get a glimpse into the lives of women who face domestic violence.