Venerate Her Husband’s Image As A God
Think what it must have been like for her
fasting from sunrise to moonrise, to wake up
three hours before dawn, bathe, apply sindoor
on the parting of her hair line, decorate her hands
with henna, dress in a crimson sari to remind
her husband of the girl he once married.
Think what it must have been like for her to
silence her thoughts and pray to Lord Shiva,
Lord Ganesh and Lord Kartikeya. Starve
until a glimpse of the moon appears, venerate
her husband’s image as a god before breaking
the fast with water. Think what it must have
been like for her daughters, lost, lonely, trapped
by tradition to secure a suitable marriage,
once married to keep fasting as if her life would
be incomplete when she danced like the wind,
took the open road on her brother’s Suzuki
waved at the young girls in waiting.
Ansuya Patel’s work has appeared in anthologies and publications, Black in White, Drawn to the Light, Gypsophila, Rattle, Last Stanza and Crowstep Journal. Her pamphlet was highly commended by Erbacce and long listed at Cerasus. Instagram as ansuya_a