This month has been an especially turbulent one for me. As I pondered the whys and wherefores of war, I noticed that there were fewer mentions of the women in war as compared to men. Operation Sindhoor, (such a Bollywood name for a serious endeavor) was made out to be how men avenged killings by terrorists, a emotion riddled period overall. And I thought about our sisters in arms. 

This poem was published in Storizen. It’s not my usual style but a ringing from the heartstrings nevertheless. 

 
Here’s my poem:
 
 

Warrior

her mufti lies neat somewhere…
past lost in memories
future a forever haze
clean cut fingernails
tight braid in a figure eight
no sweat stronger
than fuel for the present
a final tug at the belt end
a brief glance into her eyes
in the mirror, she
straightens her fatigues,
her life on an ID patch
no tears dearer
than those unshed brave
rising from the barracks
she manifests her dreams
and blends into ranks…
into the face
of the unknown soldier.
no blood holier
than that shed in war
 
 
Read the exceptional issue here:
 
Return to Skaypisms for more.