Dreamy Poet

Poetry by Kavya Janani. U
Wife – Freeverse

Wife – Freeverse

Wife
(after Ada Limón)

Synonyms for this word — thick with duties and roles;
strung together with overbearing responsibilities and the
egotistical weight of incorrigible men.
Can’t you see that this word craves a synonym
that means so much more?
They say, “That’s too wifey.”
When did she become a misogynistic adjective?
“That’s my wife’s account.”
“And who gave you the authority to enquire her balance?”
Look how easily the male ego spreads.
It’s worse than a pandemic, I say.
And they stamp her with prefixes — house, working, homely, irresponsible,
jobless, spends-all-her-husband’s-money-on-makeup, not-a-good-cook,
doesn’t-have-motherly-instincts, feminist, lazy, fat, thin, bad, good, mad, swarthy,
pinkish, sometimes the man puts an arm around her shoulder
and prefixes her with the best-in-the-world wife.
Normal just like single women, no one gives her this prefix.
How’d you define her when she is breaking the walls around her
with her invisible screams?
How’d you define her when she just wants to fix her face
to the earth and sleep on raw mud?
How’d you define her when she wants to sleep all day
and not care about a single human being in the world?
How’d you define her when she just yearns for love, respect,
and understanding from you, putting compatibility on the backburner?
How’d you define her if you get to see her for who she is?

©Kavya Janani. U


If you love my poems, please consider purchasing a copy of my poetry collection – La Douleur Exquise.

You can check out my other freeverse poems here: Freeverse Poems by Kavya Janani. U

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Dreamy Poet