The Art of Saying No
She refused to go out with him;
He didn't understand,
She was not interested;
He was stubborn and unkind,
He kept thinking;
She would eventually agree,
To sleep with him;
She became a victim,
of horrifying things.
She was not safe,
at her workplace;
She was asked to stay late at night,
She didn't want to be alone with him;
She kept denying,
He didn't realize;
She was being polite,
A refusal; he should have obliged,
She should have explained,
A simple 'No'; How hard is it to comprehend?
She didn't want to get married,
She was perfectly fine,
Single and confident;
She was threatened,
She had to compromise;
She didn't long for a companion,
She didn't have a choice,
Bounded by restrictions,
She was forced to tie,
A bond, without love,
The love she didn't find.
She couldn't decline,
She didn't want a child;
She was not motherly enough,
To bear a new life.
She kept lying.
She was asked to stay at home,
A prisoner of her conscience.
She should have said 'No',
When she was asked to compromise;
She shouldn't have kept quiet,
When she was forced to abort a child.
How could she say 'No'?
A word, A theory; she could not compile.
She was expected to obey, to abide,
She had to agree,
When her man forced himself on her every other night,
She couldn't deny,
The family she despised;
She couldn't say 'No', her 'No' made 'No' sense!
She knew it all along, but she kept trying.
Copyright © Mimansha Ranjan | Year Posted 2021
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