The Woman Card
Here we go again –
names of innocent men
tarnished
due to “sasti” feminists
who only speak when
the cards in their hands
vanish
too soon so they gain
by parting legs instead
and pulling out
The Woman Card
to resolve any skirmish
the Card that ensures
we never have to open
our own doors again –
not because of chivalry,
but because apparently
we lack the strength;
the Card that comes with
a free pass from education
so we don’t waste time
making something
of ourselves
but spend it trying to learn
how to serve you men instead
the Card that excuses
our legal rights
but comes with its own
set of rules –
that my body is a sin
but too holy to be seen,
that getting married
is my biggest win;
learning that wife means
a bag for punching
and a body for parading,
for no one will believe
bruised and battered women
when the man is excused
for swearing upon his religion.
the Card that arrives
immediately after we bleed
from between,
banishing us from God,
reducing us to filth,
but somehow still
adequately attractive
as you insist
on shoving your honor
up my quim.
conveniently blind
to the way we are bind,
the Card that allows
an over-glorification
of our meek situation
to fool us into believing
they want the best for us;
a Card that shrinks us down
and bites our tongue
a Card to shame us for complaining,
yet we only celebrate
the birth of sons.
all these women
masquerading
their complaints,
asking for a space
at the table,
a voice in the
conversation,
to be given a chance
to prove they are just as able
to not label their blood
and biological role
as their identity, but strength,
for one woman’s “No”
to be loud enough to stop men
who prey on our bodies
for lust one second,
and another, as the canvas
for their pent-up stress
because they were never
taught how to express –
toys for little boys
in the bodies of men
to play in the dark
however they please,
while the rest of the world
is complicit in their silence
as we subject our daughters
to pain, lies, degradation,
sexual and physical violence
but when she finally has enough
and sees through the farce,
we ask her to stop playing
The Woman Card.