BY RUCHIRA GHOSH

God’s most wonderful creation,

Enigmatic, inscrutable, blend of light and shade.

Thy world holds you in awe,

Woman who art thou?

Thy life is replete with escapades

God fashioned you out of Adam’s ribs;

While he lay in deep slumber,

In the primeval Garden of Eden.

You were to be his companion, friend,

Vile woman, you disobeyed your Father,

Satan lured you to eat the forbidden fruit;

Nor did you spare Adam.

God banished you from Paradise,

Doomed to live upon the Earth,

Bear your  progeny in sorrow.

Centuries rolled on

Your days spent in toil and struggle

Feeding your man and children

At night as you lay beside him

You were slave to his passions

You increased his tribe.

Was this why thou were created?

No. Through the voyage of centuries

You assumed new forms

Leaving Mankind astounded

Muses, patrons of intellect,

Helen of Troy whose effulgent beauty;

Launched a thousand ships.

Ancient queens of Egypt,

Nefertiti, Hatsheput, Cleopatra,

Who ruled the valleys by the Nile.

Their fame, valour and beauty,

Left gallant warriors wonderstruck.

Joan of Arc, immaculate angel of

A Hundred Years’ War.

God gifted you mercy and grace,

Milk of kindness flows from you breasts;

In every age and clime

Madonna, mother of Jesus

Florence Nightingale, who nursed

The wounded and suffering

Every night by the lamplight.

Lest we forget Mother Teresa

The saint of  Kolkata, India

Who touched millions of lives

Helped them die with dignity

Gave  foundlings hope and home.

Who’s here that can plumb,

The depths of your heart & mind?

It  would be a bleak world, without you,

O woman, nonpareil, Glory be to you!

New Delhi- based Ruchira Adhikari Ghosh hails from a family steeped in English literature. She grew up on a diet enriched with Hans Anderson’s Fairytales, Grimm’s Fairytales, besides Enid Blyton’s works. An English (Hons) graduate from Panjab University Chandigarh, she also holds a Master’s degree in English Literature from the same varsity. A professional journalist, she has regularly contributed to noted dailies viz Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Pioneer, beside upmarket journals like Society and Savvy.  She writes simply to give vent to her vibrant imagination and her tumult of  emotions.