I walk the street,or travel in a bus,
When I talk or I move,or even restrict myself to my groove
You stare me down with that glare of yours
You make me fall with that scowl of yours

I am your daughter,I am your wife,I am your mother
Every woman who goes through the plight

But worry not,O hungry men!
I rise..
And will keep rising
Stare me however much
I still will rise

You revile me,beat me and bring me to dust
You reprimand me with your words and the way you make me work

I am your wife,your servant or the page boy who runs for every errand
I am the beggar who clings to you for alms
I am the street dog injured by your harms

But worry not,O unthinking human heart!
I rise..
And will keep rising
Higher than the skies
I still will rise

Chained and fettered,by your iron shackles
You pull at my wrist with a freedom you burgled
And with bullets that on me you showered
You scorn me with your hatred
You trod me as if I'm dust

I am a slave,I am a Jew
I am a fat man and I am black too

But worry not still,O discriminating fool!
I rise..
And will keep rising
To infinity and to forever
I still will rise

And rise will I
Above your rebuking glares
Brighter than the lights
Till my halo makes you blind..

I don't want a swing over the pond,
Or unicorns in my garden.
Just give me some light,
To find my way home.
Some air to breathe,
Some room to live.

Give me some hope,
Give me some love.

Give me the laughter of the childhood games,
Give me the warmth of my grandma's lap.

Give me the love of my lover's part,
Give me the protection of my brother's arm.

I don't want any candies or cakes,
I don't want the beauties of the world.

All I want is the joy of a little one,
Litten to peace. To innocence and to bliss.

In a deep slumber
I see myself singing
To life
to love
and to moments
come and gone
The words were lost
a vagabond in the forest
awaiting the night
each day passing by
only in wonder
of the victory
of silence over noise

Some swayed out
while some stuck in my throat
Both journeys worth their while
One,
where come out the letters
swinging along the spaces
the curves
and the turns
making the tongue dance
on the music they play
a silent art known only to them
and the tranquil thread
of letters flow by
dancing through my lips
they enter the curves of the ears

Another,
suppressed by my heart
to stay in them for a while
and longer
until the time is right.
These are words
most sacred and holy
chosen by the philosopher
the sceptics
and the night
to be unleashed
only, when the time is right
I learnt about this mystery
In the deep slumber
when I sang unlike awake
and I spoke unlike my silence
This mystery of words
and their bond with sound
they clinked to my ears
and made the heart bleed out
And this mystery unfolded
when my knowledge of words
began a dance with sound
and choose my lips
to be the floor they dance on...

Whence once I heard the faint whisper of the rushing wind
It formed a name in the air, whispering
The faint decibels that your soul voiced
Called out to me, unheard and unvoiced
Sweeping right back I searched for your figure
Forming shapes in the clouds
Awaiting your selfless shoulder
“Oh brother!” I cried out, “Where had you gone?”
You curved your lips and embraced me for long
My head felt light. My soul lingered
And I drifted to another world
To a scape bygone
As toddlers, I saw us playing on the hill tops
Amidst wintery clouds
I saw me run after you and fall on the ground
And suddenly you turned, with concern on your brows
Chasing back and picking me up
Brushing my tears and swinging me up
I saw us race to the school in the mornings
And I saw you hold my hand while returning
But then I felt my hands bereft
My head felt light. My soul revered
I saw me race alone to the school
And I saw me fall and chase the lonely cloud
I saw your face, and its obscure lines
My wet eyes rained bringing me back to this time
Sweeping right around I again searched for your figure
In vain I tried to form some shapes in the clouds
And then I heard the whispering wind rush in
Blanketing the clouds and taking them in
I heard no whispers, no names and no sound
“Oh brother!” I cried out, “Where have you gone?”

She sat on the window sill
And somehow managed to squeeze herself out of the bars
Tied to the bars was a rope
Ending in the vastness of water below
The leafy curtains hid her
And she sure nobody could see her

But she had been there, since a while
Deciding, whether to jump off
Or hang on to the bars beside
When suddenly opened the door
Creaking in motion
And chilling her spines in the move
A figure entered
Looked about the room
And stopped to glance at the curtains
A little longer than supposed

A thousand thoughts troubled her mind
Should she jump off?
Or stay where she had been brought?
The figure resigned
But with a stealthier pace than which it had arrived

The clocks were ticking
And the sand, filling the lower block
She had to choose
Fast
Or she would lose
Her last chance
But she knew not
Whether she would survive
For the water below was cold and deep
And vast as far as her eyes could reach
Would it be worth if she took the risk?
Well, it had to be
'Coz no place could be worser than this
A place where chained she lay all day long
Where worthless her life, meant nothing at all

So many thoughts, so little time
She could hear footsteps approaching
To chain her back maybe

The footsteps were getting closer
And the sand trickling down
She paused
Took a deep breath
Held tight to the rope and
"It would suffice"- she thought
And let go of herself
And just as they approached
She had fallen into the water
"What now!" she thought, "what more to this!"
'Coz they had cut off her wings long ago
And she couldn't fly anymore
And she was just a little bird
With tiny little feet to give her some hope.