GARGI SARKHEL BAGCHI

 

Endangered

 

I lie awake in my mother’s womb

Worried for my safety and hers

If I’m born, I’ll be shown my tomb

A girl is not what my family prefers

 

But I wish to live, to laugh and feel

Please don’t take away my right

Can I at least get a chance to appeal?

Don’t murder me when I can’t fight

 

I’ll become what your sons promise to be

I’ll be there for you when you’re old

I’ll study hard and earn good money

For my achievements you’ll be extolled

 

The world is fighting for women’s rights

But they’ll never know me and me them

An endangered species, my faultless plight

And it’s me society continues to condemn!

© Gargi Sarkhel Bagchi

 

Endeavor

 

She trudges along day after day

From one home to the other

Scrubbing debris-covered dishes

She’ll never eat on

Mopping grubby apartments

She can only dream to live in

Washing an array of apparel

She’ll never own.

 

She trudges along day after day

From dawn to dusk

To earn a laughable amount

At the end of a laboriously grueling month

With bruises inflicted by an alcoholic husband

Yet with a head held high and a spirit alight

At the mere thought of her girl,

Her daughter,

Exceling in school.

 

Nothing Special

 

I am a workaholic chasing her career

Alongside a cook, cleaner and dishwasher

I am an electrician, a mechanic, a chauffeur

An accountant, a dietician and home maker

 

I am educated, qualified, I’m a high-flier

For my kids: a teacher, mentor and storyteller

I am a nurse, an actor and entertainer

A therapist, counsellor and pain-reliever

 

I am a referee, a judge, a masseuse and tailor

A gardener, a plumber, a wholesome provider

Not just a jack but in all trades a multitasking master

But I’m just an ordinary woman, like any and every other

© Gargi Sarkhel Bagchi

 

GARGI SARKHEL BAGCHI

 

GARGI SARKHEL BAGCHI: The 1st prize winner of ‘The Reuel International Poetry Prize, 2022’, Gargi Sarkhel Bagchi hails from Pune, India. A university topper in her M.A. with German studies, she received a fully funded DAAD-scholarship to complete her second Master’s from LMU, Munich. The thesis she wrote there was published by GRIN publishing house, Germany and is available on Amazon worldwide.A German teacher for over 18 years, she has been pursuing her passion for writing since 2013 and has contributed her writings towards innumerable prestigious national and international publications. Though currently engaged full-time as a tutor with Deutsch Uni Online, Munich for students world over and as a German corporate trainer, she looks forward to publishing a compilation of her writings soon.