Sculpted from the blackness of crime
And the harshness of punishment
Your maker endowed you with form
To equal the eminence of your name
But when iniquity’s hand carves your decoy
And drapes your mantle upon its lie
Your sword is dragged naked into the streets
Your scales clamor and scream
like a mind unhinged…
An unbridled ‘tandav’ they begin
True justice and mercy failing therein
When your impersonator detonates
In the yawning alleys of misguided zeal
And shady salvos pelt your honour
I have seen you cower and cringe
Dethroned lady!
Then I sense your agony
Your helplessness streaming like Draupadi’s sari
Wafted by the evil winds of frenzied power;
The torture you cannot translate into tears
Stamped in the hollow eyes and hope-shorn wails
Impaled upon your hallowed doors
Yet, irrepressible lady!
Like a warrior battered but unbeaten,
You rise each time
To recreate the dignity of your calling!
To redeem the grace of your tainted glory!
Sculpted from the blackness of crime