Be The Light
Be the light and
hold her hand
When at night
she walks home alone
Petrified in
this patriarchal land
And feels
haunted from the lurking shadows of the unknown
Be the light and
show him the way When the little boy at the signal sells toys
In the heat and
cold through night and day
Do not ignore
him, just buy anyway
Be the light and
hold her hand
When she is
abandoned in an old age home
As across the
sea her kin has flown
With fading
memory and trembling limbs, her hopes lay hanged
Be the light and
show him the way
When you see him
bleeding, the victim of a road rage
Try to save his
life and not just walk away
Help to catch
the culprit and put him in a cage
Be the light and
hold his hand
When he’s judged
and humiliated for his class and caste
Though he cannot
change his birth or his past
But for his
rights he is still trying to stand
Be the light and
show her the way
When she is
beaten and abused
Molested,
tortured and thrown away
Lift up her
spirits and shame the accused
©️Roopam Chadha
In Pursuit Of Freedom
She is still
in pursuit of
freedom
when she will
not be
ogled or
assaulted or beaten
He is still
in pursuit of
freedom
when he will not
be
judged as black
or white or for his religion
She is still
in pursuit of
freedom
when she will be
loved and
worshipped for not only
nine days in a year, but every day in every
household
He is still
in pursuit of
freedom
when he will be
able to own what
he grows
and the land on
which he sows
breathes free of
bills or laws
She is still
in pursuit of
freedom
when she will be
allowed to
choose what to wear
a saree,
skirt, suit or a hijab
and no one else
but only she to care
He is still
in pursuit of
freedom
when he will be
allowed to speak
or write freely and the words
will not bleed
him or her or anyone
©️Roopam Chadha
Where Are The Smiles?
Lies where the
freedom we fought for?
Is the flame of
hope burning inside us,
Or are we
burning ourselves in it?
Lies where the
quest for peace?
Is it in the
prayers
Or the place of
worship
has become the
battleground of violence?
Lies where the
pursuit of happiness?
Is it within our
souls
Or is it in the
cries of wounded souls
Where are the
smiles?
Lies where the
mind without fear?
Is it in the
wisdom we attained
Or the temples
of knowledge
are spreading
terror?
Lies where the
justice we seek?
Is it in the
system
Or the
protectors have become
the perpetrators
of crime?
Lies where the
equality we fought for?
Is it still
there in preachings of our reformers
Or is it only
dying in the books?
Where are the
smiles?
Lies where the
secular India we are proud of?
Is it in the
Constitution
Or is it in the
barbaric acts
of demons
exploiting religion?
Lies where the
light we seek today?
Do we ignite the
candle ourselves
Or are we doomed
Under the
blanket of darkness
Where are the
smiles?
©️Roopam Chadha
ROOPAM CHADHA
ROOPAM CHADHA: Roopam Chadha is an
award-winning bilingual poet. She is a graduate in Economics (hons) from Delhi
University. She has authored two books of English poetry. She received an award
for her debut anthology ‘And the Canaries Sing On’ from ‘Autism for Help Village
Project Trust” (2021). She has also won the best English collection award for
her second anthology ‘Blushing Candles’ from The Literary Warrior Group at
Sahitya Akademi New Delhi (2023). She lives in New Delhi (India)with her
family. Her poems share space in several national and international
anthologies. Besides writing she also pursues her passion for painting.
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