A ‘Post-Nirbhaya’ Gangrape Victim’s ‘Thank U’ Note To God

The soft walls of her body
broken in and barged into,

groped in, pinched
and penetrated, thoroughly

trampled upon and vandalised,
wrenching the soul

out of her, leaving
her numb and shaken

to the core. Drained out
of light and torn

into shreds of herself
smeared with blood;

she spat into her own thighs
in utter disgust,

then faintly smiled
and reasoned:

“Arre, Pagli!
It could have been much worse.

Thank God! That
you have been spared the ‘iron-rod’.”

Durga Prasad Panda is a bilingual poet, translator and critic