A Country Girl’s Cry: ‘Nobody gives her tears justice’

Saturday, February 18, 2017

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COMMENTARY

A Country Girl’s Cry
by Bipin Khatiwada

Down a country road,
She walks with clumsy steps
With mystery on her face.
She goes to town to stitch fabrics,
And is paid 30 rupees.

The long walk back home
Gives her no rest.
There are too many tasks awaiting her.
Manage everything in the house,
She is told.

“Cut bushes for cows,
Cook and wash utensils.
Buy flour with the 30 rupees.”
She never eats a stomach-full of food.
She is just 20;
never attended school.
Already mother of a boy and two girls,
She lives with drunkard husband.
He beats her everyday.

Still, the vultures’ eyes seize her as prey.
This world serves class
And race for marriage.
Violence hovers around her.
Nobody gives her tears justice.
She wears a pair of clothes for a year;
Shivers in the cold winter.
She thinks of her family at night,
And dreams of stitching clothes.

An innocent mind,
Nobody cares about her
Or her life as a country girl.