The Goddess and the Warrior (Lopa Banerjee)

Born between the transitions

of revolution, weren’t you?

The promise

of a strenuous labor of war

The Gods and the demons

The immortals and the perishables

Striving

for that elusive immortality 

The elite of the Gods

and the loud, dalit raakshasas.

Durga

‘Srishti Sthiti Vinashanang’

Destroyer of creation, 

Stabilization,

Dance of a cracked earth 

Sheltering woes

Born in the belly of a patriarchy 

In tatters, lost.

[First published in ‘The Durga series’ which is a part of the book of poetry and memoir ‘Woman And Her Muse’, Authorspress, 2018.]