Hunters/Gatherers

(From Glamour UK)

Chauvinism’s foot pressed firmly on the reverse gear
the cycle of life hurtles at break-neck speed
back into the dark ages of yore
crushing progress in one fell swoop

Men! Strut your stuff
pick up the arms
go on a rampage
hunt down dissenters
as well as naysayers
brook no argument
cock that snook
bam! wham!
the sham of civility shattered gleefully
justice will be served
by the barrel of the gun!

Women! Cross your legs and press your knees together
you are being recast
as damsels to be disrobed
and used as a product
your body no longer yours
your life worse than chattel
barefoot with swelling belly; that’s your destiny.

Rights! What rights!
might is right
and how can the right be wrong
bring forth in this world
the unwanted
raise an army of abandoned, misfit kids
then give them the licence to hunt and gather.

Rejoice! Patriarchy rules again
we are in the war zone
fodder for the frontline
should be churned without shame
the darkness of heart
envelopes the world
maniacs are in charge
life is cherished
the living be damned!

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That heavy feeling

The grainy texture of hazy memories
evokes myriad long forgotten tastes
some ambrosial, some miasmic
some that leave me pasty faced.

suspended in the half light of living
an unnamed bird flutters haplessly
singing no song of eternal hope
yet it can’t stop whirring its wings endlessly.

tonight the moon’s forehead is lined with worries
the fragrant skies will smolder throughout the night
heaving under the haze of monochromatic thoughts
the sun’s endeavour to slight the moon may never come to light.

time fades bit by bit bleeding every second
hunger throbs voraciously in my aching bones
tears gather drop by drop in the hollow of my neck
I brace myself for the colossal shadows of unknowns.

Sharing with dVerse OLN.

Whither inner calm! (Espinela)

(From Pexel)

Is existence a bluff figment,
an illusionary vision?
Stillness a quietus pigment
Making all frayed fringes glisten.

Tranquillity has no remnant
The vast swathes of cacophony
(No harmony, no symphony)
Envelope in clamourous waves
All cryptic nuances escape
Blame the inner disharmony!

This is an Espinela, inspired by The Mouse.

Day after day

(From Pexel)

Tired of the congeries of compromise
night pauses haltingly
to collapse within itself
the miracle of solitude
no longer thrills her
sceptic memories lie frozen
in the limbo between shadows and reality
gathering its tattered skirt
lined with despair
she makes way for another day
fresh faced, happy draped in an amber glow
he arrives on the wings of a birdsong
but the rigmarole of humdrum routine
leaves grey smudges under his eyes
needless to say he
realises too late he is just
like a suggestion of the previous day.

Walk down memory lane (a pantoum)

Let me hold your tiny hand once again
I want to relive those idyllic days once more
Let us walk down the elusive memory lane
When you were my little angel, oh so pure!

I want to relive those joyous days once more
To fill my pockets with memories of your childhood
When you were my little angel, so very pure
I just can’t believe you are stepping into adulthood!

To fill my pockets with memories of your childhood
Those sun filled days of carefree gurgling laughter
I can’t believe you are stepping into adulthood
My little doll is all grown-up, of age from hereafter.

Those sun filled days of carefree, gurgling laughter
Let me make a gallery of reminisces once again
My little doll is all grown-up, of age from hereafter
My heart is filled with such a sweet pain!

Let’s walk the gallery of reminisces once again
Let’s chase butterflies one more  time
My heart is filled with such a sweet pain
Let’s catch sunbeams and hear woods chime.

Let’s chase butterflies one more  time
Let me send you off with a heartfelt smile
Let’s catch sunbeams and hear woods chime
Your journey will be long, cover it mile by mile.

Let me send you off with a heartfelt smile
Though melancholy smites  my poor heart
Your journey is long, cover it mile by mile
And I will from afar play my part.

Though melancholy smites my poor heart
I cannot but be happy for you
And I will from afar play my part
It is now your life to live and pursue.

I cannot but be happy for you
My dear little angel, oh so pure
It is now your life to live and pursue
But let me hold your hand just once again!

https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2021/09/20/what-do-you-see-100-september-20-2021/

Resilience

In the ever changing kaleidoscope of life
greys crowded out all the vivid hues
colours bled from my luxuriant dreams
leaving them dully monochromed

dizzying joy, quirky warmth and undying passion 
were the gifts bestowed on me
I floated dandelion like on the soft breeze of contentment

as a parting gift
the heartbreak that was unexpectedly tossed my way
shattered me beyond repair
closing all doors on me

I gather my fragmented self decisively
I acclimatise myself to the cloudy climes
getting ready to take a plunge
into the uncertain ocean of living again
learning to dance with the rains

these days storms sustain my resilient heart.

https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2021/09/13/what-do-you-see-99-september-13-2021/

https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2021/09/09/reenas-xploration-challenge-180-2/

Memories

As I stumble again over my tangled shoelaces
wondrous memories light up the canvas of youth
time is fluid and my mind lucid
as I ramble through the lanes of past
a hint of the fragrance of carefree laughter
causes a lump in my throat that refuses to go
the freaky four they called us behind our back
our strangeness, the elephant in the room
nobody had the courage to address
we were unstoppable
no kakorrhaphiophobia, no feeling of insufficiency
my clumsiness never an issue
secure in each others’ quaintness
world warriors we were
then fate spun a whirlwind so intense
scattered across the globe we lie
the magnet of uniqueness keeping us aligned
I wipe my tears with a sigh hoping to see them before I die.

https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2021/08/23/what-do-you-see-96-august-23-2021/

https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2021/08/26/reenas-xploration-challenge-196/

Hiraeth

The stirrings were intense

leaving my stomach in a churn

my cheeks damp and my heart all overflowing

When I land there, I am taken aback

I tell my smote heart to not lose it

to my consternation my clothes are all wrong

I had tried to dress the traditional way

but the way I carry them makes me stand out

the syllables that proudly roll off my tongue

though similar to theirs

have an alien accent even to my own ears!

the sights, the sounds which I had imagined

had pulled my strings all these years

now leave me strangely uncomfortable and rueful

my crinkling of nose and exasperated sighs

though smothered, are frowned upon

the whispering behind my back is hard to miss

I smile awkwardly

gulping the too sweet milky tea hastily

scalding my tongue and heart

I long to go back

but that home is also not home

all these years that I have spent

have stayed as an outsider,

standing on the periphery never belonging

tethered to the memories of my supposed roots

and now I stand exposed

floating in a limbo

not sure where home is.

Ragtag Daily Prompt Saturday: Hiraeth

Deceptive appearances

Your perception colours your vision
You have never tried to know my side of story
Though you may see me as a threat
I am just protecting my territory.

Appearances don’t define character
Hatred so often hatred does beget
I am just protecting my territory
Though you may see me as a threat.

You see what you want to see
Invisible my teardrops to those consumed by bigotry
Though you may see me as a threat
I am just protecting my territory.

I am as terrified of you as you of me
Danger makes me too break out in sweat
I am just protecting my territory
Though you may see me as a threat.

Myths and lores fuel our fears
You tend to believe distorted history
Though you may see me as a threat
I am just protecting my territory.

Maybe time will be kinder with you
Maybe your actions you will regret
I am just protecting my territory
Though you may see me as a threat.

dVerse: write a mirrored refrain.

https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2021/08/09/what-do-you-see-94/

Night magic

After a day of fiercely staring at the earth

the sun tiredly sinks down the horizon

Luna yawns and fumbles to wakefulness

emerging from behind a curtain of wispy clouds

she gently shoos them away to reclaim her space

Rearranging the gown of darkness to amplify her glow

she calls to order the unruly glittering glowworms

As they fall in place, the orris orb owns the sky wholly again

Her limpid, luminous light shimmers with a gleam of platinum

Lying languidly on the inspired carpet of cobalt blue

deviating from the usual transcript, in keeping with her

magical, misty, moody and mercurial nature, the moon gets mischievous

sprinkling her fairy dust, calling young lovers nigh

She stretches delicately, extending fingers of moonbeams

her silver tendrils entwining their nubile souls

Satisfied with her successful shenanigans

she winks conspiratorially at her coruscating comrades

then retires gracefully to cede place to the sun.

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2021/08/06/standing-on-the-moon-challenge-188/