i’m a brown Indian girl
whose dreams are crushed
every day by a society
that only remembers me
when it’s in heat -
because i’m a girl.
i’m a brown Indian girl
terrified of the world
we are living in today
because misogyny
and misandry have
ousted humanity.
i’m a brown Indian girl
living in fear
of a tomorrow which promises
to be darker than today
because my courage
is now the wick that burns
on both ends.
i’m a brown Indian girl
who knows what it means
to be a survivor
because i do that every day -
i survive
on the hopes that someday
shards of the shattered glass ceiling
will lodge themselves
in the spines of all those
who broke mine and
that of others.
i’m a brown Indian girl
who loves
a little differently from others
because
i love with everything i have
and all that i am.
i’m a brown Indian girl
wishing for a different yesterday
because
i hate how today looks
and i don’t know if i’ll be around tomorrow.