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At the slightest slip, she’s judged and condemned, her behaviour is measured with an insatiable gauge, ‘Done poorly here, terrible there...’
They eulogise her in their living room debates,
Endorse her as a role model, who never errs,
When conversation thickens, they slyly profess,
How they crafted the Durga from the ordinary clay.
.
They dole out tips and tricks to the miracle,
Quoting assiduously to their stunned circle,
‘Mix six tablespoons each of scorn and criticism,
Add a cup of guilt-tripping, and the spell is done’.
They boast of the incantation, its magical effects,
A bait at the ready to appropriate differences,
How it moulds her into an ever-whirring machine,
A Goddess donning myriad hats with equanimity.
They proudly describe her versatile cape,
Complete with an instruction manual, intricate,
They hail a woman’s multi-tasking superpower,
As she glides through, juggling multiple spheres.
She wears the chef’s hat, catering to every whim,
Adapts to the rebirth, as the baby is born,
She focuses resolutely, in the onerous cubicle,
Struggling to stay true to her multifarious roles.
At the slightest slip, she’s judged and condemned,
Her behaviour is measured with an insatiable gauge,
‘Done poorly here, a terrible error there’ they adjudge,
Administering ‘heaps of dedication and diligence’.
While they coldly dissect her blatant failures,
Behind closed doors, she sheds long-withheld tears,
She laments the years lost, the futile optimism,
And longs to break free of the ‘superwoman’ prison.
First published here : Poetry Parlour
Image Source: thinqkreations from Getty Images via Canva Pro
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This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
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Dear Women’s Web Community Member,
You may have wondered at our being on the quieter side during the last couple of months. Thank you for your patience, and we wanted to come back to you with a detailed note on what’s been happening at our end of things.
When we first began Women’s Web, as a blog from one woman’s desk along with a few like-minded souls, little could we have imagined the heights that it would soar to. Over the years, Women’s Web has published over 20000 stories (almost all by women), empowered countless women with the ideas, community and resources to chase their dreams, employed hundreds of women in core and project-based roles, and in the process, emerged as the OG women’s community in India. It has also inspired many others to build communities of a similar nature, all enabling women (and other-underrepresented groups) in their own ways.
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