The story of her life
…isn’t over
Married at fourteen
Mother at seventeen
The frail little girl
Is pregnant
Once more
—————-
Her mother
She sent her
To school
Like other children
Of other maids
—————
Her time
In school
It was fun
With her friends
….so many
————-
At home
It was different
—————
She sat hours
Stringing beads
And turning them
Into gaudy
Shining
Necklaces
—————
She had
To earn her keep
—————
She helped her mother
Do the cooking
She swabbed the floors
She washed the clothes
Her mother
She was busy
Doing other people’s
Chores
———-
Her mother
She cooked
She swabbed
She cleaned
She looked after
Other people’s
Children
—————
Her father
He worked
He drank
He beat up
Her
And her mother
—————-
Her brothers
They
Lorded over her
————-
Her mother
She too
Didn’t give them
Chores
————-
They spent their time
Playing games
On their mobiles
Her mother
Had bought
For them
—————
With the money
She earned
Stringing together
Those gaudy necklaces
—————-
The toilet
Five minutes away
Waiting in the queue
Red spots
Her life was over
————-
They could not afford
To give much
But she was pretty
————
For ten thousand
They palmed her off
Indebted forever
The celebrations
On her wedding
————-
He was older
He was drunk
He had another
————-
On the first day
Beating her up
When she resisted
————
She was fourteen
————
The family poorer
Than hers
————
The toilet now
Ten minutes away
The bathroom
Just a place
Enclosed by cloth
————-
Cloth that
Her brother-in-law
Could open at will
————
Careful she was
That frightened girl
Only bathing
When her
Mother-in-law
Was home
————-
Her mother-in-law
A maid too
Her sisters-in law
Maids too
So was she
A maid too
————-
In a new place
A tower
An ivory one
————-
She worked
In five houses
Cleaning in one
Cooking in two
Looking after kids
In another
And then
Washing dishes
In the night
————-
Hurrying home
To cook dinner
She couldn’t be late
She would be
Beaten up
———
By that old drunk
Her husband
_______
She fasted
Twice a week
Prayed
That things get better
————-
They did
For a while
—————
She conceived
—————
Take rest
Don’t exert
Eat well
They say
—————
That’s for the madams
Not her
————
Some madams
They are good
Feed her
Let her rest a while
But not the others
———
The baby’s due
A month to go
She labours on
Her labour
It began
A long time ago
———-
She’s young
A kid
She’s seventeen
————-
Her madam’s daughter
She’s in college
She’s seventeen
—————-
She packs her tiffin
Washes her clothes
Her undies
Puts them back
In her cupboard
————
The pretty ones
To wear
To the malls
And parties
————
She loves that girl
She’s friendly
And loves her back
She gave her
A pair of jeans
She outgrew
————
She couldn’t wear them
She wanted to
————-
But she gave them off
To her unmarried
Sister-in-law
————
She has to walk
Twenty minutes
Downhill
To reach the tower
————-
That’s the easy part
————-
Exhausted
After work
At night
No bus
—————
Twenty minutes
Uphill
And then
The chores
At home
—————
Her body aches
Her feet swell
—————
Here heart
In a tiny corner
There is hope
Joy
Mixed with fear
And resignation
—————
The child within
She hopes
It’s a boy
—————-
But she will
Have to leave him
Or her
With her mother-in-law
And go to work
Only to be
Back
In the night
————
One more
Mouth to feed
————
She wonders
What will happen
If it’s a girl
————
Will she live
The life she lives
Married off at fourteen
Pregnant at seventeen
—————
No she says
Firmly now
Her footsteps
Marching faster
I will not
Let her
Be me
—————
I’ll work harder
Educate her
In an English school
Send her for Tutions
————-
I’ll take my mother-in-law’s
Taunting
My father-in-law’s
Jibes
My sisters-in-law’s
Bullying
My brother-in-law’s
Ogling
My husband’s
Beatings
My madam’s grumbling
—————
But give her
A better life
—————
After my child
Is born
—————
I will go
In secret
Take a day off
From madams
To the municipal hospital
————
They don’t want
Population
They have
The operation
————-
I won’t have
Another
Mouth to feed
————-
Is she wrong
To stop God’s
Blessings
Her future
Would be children?
___________
You be the judge
————-
Substances hurt people^ hurt people 