RIVULETS OF THOUGHTS - Cascading emotions

I Will Rise

You can scream at my self esteem,

That I have no claim, over my gleaming dreams.

You can pass decrees, that forbid me,

From drinking off those mystical streams.

You can weave new sturdy ropes to restrain,

With archaic strands of barbaric constraints.

You can chain me, shackle me with anchors that weigh.

But it won't ensure, that I will lay on the dust in dismay.

Do you wish to see my spirit broken?

I am not like an emotion that will be forgotten.

Do you wish to see my head bowed? Eyes lowered?

Like a puny coward?

My shoulders to droop down like they're made of jelly?

From the wombs of my soulful cries.

I shall rise.

Your ropes will go up in flames,

I shall lay waste to your chains.

I am not a beast to be bridled. 

With the certainty of the many moons and suns,

With the conviction of the perpetual tides that rise,

I will arise.

Stomp on my individuality, hang me like a trophy on the wall.

Go ahead and script the prophecy to my unprecedented fall.

You can pin me down, have me sprawled in dirt and grime.

You may write down my legacy; with your version of embittered lies.

My soul will not be enslaved,

Like dust into your eyes,

I shall rise.

Does my flamboyance offend you?

Does my radiance and allure, inspire a coup?

A mutiny perhaps, amongst your faculties and ranks?

Do my voluptuous curves, embarrass you?

I am the woman with gold mines in her bosom.

Rein in your insubordinate-eyes, that steal glances.

My haughtiness might blind your advances.

Resolve the doubts, gnawing and digging' in your back yard.

You can hurl at my soul, barbs and shards

You can shoot me with your spiteful words,

But I won't bite the bullet.

You can cut me with your hateful eyes,

like an Infant's surprise, I shall rise.

Does my sensuality distress you?

Unnerve or cause you to be flustered,

Unsettled, or agitated perhaps?

Does my vigour cause anxiety in you?

I am a woman with diamonds between her legs?

It is mine, my dignity and my body.

It is mine, my sexuality, my intimacy.

It is mine, mine to give to someone worthy.

It is mine, my dreams, mine to dream.

It is mine, my heart, mine to risk it in love.

It is mine, my respect, my head to be held high.

It is mine, my freedom, my wings to spread and take flight.

From the ashes of my burnt dreams,

I shall rise

Uprooting the deep rooted reservations,

I shall rise

I am part of the balance,

I am the Chalice, I am the bearer.

From the love that overflows from within me,

I rise.

Like an ocean, that is swelling under unfair pressures,

I shall rise.

Like a massive wave that swallows everything in its wake,

Washing away your meagre timber boats and anchors that hold them.

I shall rise.

Like the Scorned-Sun that burns the darkness of the night,

I will rise.

Into a morning of hope and promise.

I am the yearning for freedom, in a Prisoner's heart,

Like the prison walls crumbling down,

I will rise.

I am the lost Mariner's hope for dry land.

Like the light from northern star,

I will rise.

Like the Butterfly piercing its way out of its cocoon,

With wings dipped in the Rainbow.

I rise

I will rise and cloud your narrow skies.

Like a looming rebellion,

I shall rise.

I rise.

-Harish Vaid

This Poem is dedicated to all those women who have the heart to fight for their respect, freedom and their dreams, for their individuality, for the freedom of their expressions, for the freedom to be themselves, who fight for the freedom, to follow their heart. This Poem is for all those Bravehearts.

Defiance is a good thing especially when the odds are unfairly stacked against you and your self respect has a threat of going extinct. 

For all the Free spirits out there and in my life, for all the wild-flowers, my respect.