Women: A Legacy of Grief and Grace

This poem explores the generational burden of grief, love, and resilience passed down among women. It reflects on the complexities of being a woman in a world shaped by loss, societal expectations, and personal battles. Through vivid imagery and emotional depth, the poem conveys how these burdens create both strength and vulnerability, while acknowledging the shared pain of women who navigate life’s turbulence. It weaves together the personal and collective experience of womanhood, ultimately confronting the weight of history, identity, and survival.

WOMENCRIMEPOETRY

Pournamasi Mohapatra

9/19/20241 min read

shallow focus of a woman's sad eyes
shallow focus of a woman's sad eyes

My mother is an institution in herself.

My mother carried her mother's grief.

Her mother carried hers.

And so I carry all their grief,

along with some of my own.

I refer to my house as an unsteady concoction

of wilted flowers, peaches, and moonlit corners.

I refer to my body an unending saga of

love, loss and laughter

I refer to my mind as an unsound land of

intellect, rage and eternal sunshine

I refer to my heart as a broken masterpiece

of gold, gentleness, and guilt

Day and night I sever ties

and build silver-lined bridges

to make all of it come together

(in soft strokes and violent blows)

form a mosaic of meaning(s)

— bearing an olive branch of sorts

But I learn of a woman

whose fate was decided

In a war zone, in her home,

In a place of duty,

In a seminar room of an educational institution.

and my motley stitches come undone.

I’m a mockingbird flying straight

into a turbulence.

So I wonder how many of my sisters

sit with their heads hung low today

preparing to relive the collective soreness

of being a woman in this world.