I love red,
For red is me.
Red is the embarrassment
I bring to your face, mother,
By the news of my arrival
Putting at stake your survival.
Red is the blood that is spilled,
When my dreams are killed,
As I am returned to my tomb
While still asleep in the womb.
Red is the roaring rage
That gets out of cage,
By my sins that bring, father,
A shame to your ‘honour’.
Red is the anger that
Descends in your eyes, brother
When I whisper for my rights
Or spread my wings for a flight
Red is the bundled bride I am,
When passed off as a parcel
From one man, my father
To another, my life partner.
Red is the dot of vermillion
Stamped on my forehead,
That is for the world to see,
That my man, you own me.
Red is the blush on my cheeks,
A million words of my candor it shrieks
My man when your lust you quench
While in the fantasy of love I drench
Red is the fire set ablaze,
When a truck load of dowry
Fails to fill, my master
The castle of your greed.
Red are the bruises that scream
Of my battered self-esteem,
From the circle of abuse, my protector
You inflict on my being.
This is exactly why I love red,
For every shade of red is me.
Foot note: Dedicate these scribbled verses to millions who face gender discrimination from the day their birth is mourned, to millions more lost through Female feticide, honor killings, victims of violence against women, rape, and any or every form of abuse endured merely for being born a woman.
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Blind to Bounds 
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