Tethered by a cord, we twirled in limbo,
In darkness, we stayed for the whole nine months,
The snug cozy womb had seemed a haven,
Nurtured by gentle care we grew and grew,
Oh! We had believed ‘twas the safest place…

A dulcet voice sang songs that were soothing,
And told us stories to abate our qualms,
We waited with bated breath to meet her,
Our tiny minds; they wove a thousand dreams.

And then one day, during the destined hour,
With great struggle, we entered the new world,
We cried loudly, and declared we were born,
She was not happy; 𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦?!
We yearned for their love but they despised us,
‘A Girl!’ They said, ‘A curse she’ll prove to be’,
‘But YOU could have stopped it; Ma! You could have,
Was being born a girl, our greatest fault?
Six feet under, our muted cries were lost,
Hark! You may own our bodies, but not souls.’

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Picture Credit: Pixabay

This poem written in blank verse has 10 syllables per line and is unrhyming.

It was written for the prompt ‘ Children’ given by ArtoonsInn Poetry Parlour for the monthly contest in Jan2022 and was chosen among the top 5 poems for the month.