She’s elegant and brave,
She’s her family’s lifeline,
But life short-changed her
with a hedonistic and alcoholic swine,
She wakes up before dawn,
the only time that’s her own—
she sings and dances with birds,
bathes and says her prayers,
and then disappears into the day’s clutter.
She runs around to finish house chores,
sends her children to school,
and heads out to earn a living,
with a prayer on her lips and fortitude,
leaving behind a man,
lifeless and pitiful,
shouting hoarse,
having drunk himself to not-yet-death,
how unfortunate!
By lunchtime, she’s back home,
only to find the same pitiful figure
this time awake,
deftly, she thwarts his slaps and blows,
and protects her little cubs
who’re still too tiny to fight back;
New bruises—outside and in the heart,
Too tired to hide them anymore,
she prays for her husband’s death,
with no regrets.
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