A trail of tears sank down my face,

When he forced the sindoor up my head,

I was just a child,

I was expected to bear another child?

 

He caught me reading once;

He burnt all my books that day,

I liked to read,

He feared I was well-read.

 

He touched me, he mistreated me,

I told my mother,

But it was not her problem anymore,

Because I did not belong to that family anymore.

 

He got a leather belt one night,

I cried “NO” so many times,

But my voice was muted;

But my screams were muted.

 

I got a gun one night,

He cried “NO” so many times,

But his voice was muted;

But his screams were muted

 

A 16-year-old who likes to wonder and write