This poem was published in the TMYS Story Project – 12 (December, 2023). Given below is an excerpt of it.

Pre-destined to birth, nourish, nurture and propagate,

relegated to a lifetime of anonymity and obscurity,

my own desires and aspirations, for aeons I’ve brushed aside.

Sacrifice and stoicism are my middle name.

Spanning light years, transcending spatial barriers,

donning myriad roles of the ‘naari’…but never played the real ‘me’ –

a living, breathing, feeling woman thrust into an impassive world.