By Anusree Raveendran
This poem deals with the relationship of two girls and how they confront their orthodox family.
Dear girlfriend’s mother(s),
It’s an illegitimate adjective, I know
So, what’s legit and how’d you rate?
Don’t tell me it’s to refuse to acknowledge reality your whole life
Death makes more sense than this anonymity.
Don’t tell me it’s threatening and ask me to obey
To uphold family integrity by sacrificing identity.
Don’t tell me it’s essential to remain incognito
I won’t change pronouns of my love poem.
What’s between us may not entertain you
Or your trusted psychiatrist who found a ‘cure’ for us
Who disguised truth over cultural ethics.
It wasn’t love at first sight and healed later
Or a cute Valentine’s Day proposal
We didn’t fall in love; we grew into it.
Holding hands without skipping a heartbeat
Is a luxury we’ve been longing for
In a dream when we kissed, she refused to close her eyes
She was afraid of ‘people hunting people.’
When you requested us to stop ‘everything’
I didn’t know how to prove our authenticity
I still don’t know how to define love.
What I know is, colors do succeed in this pale world
Rainbows shine brightly like every star, moon, and sun
And the more you detach this ‘unnatural’ chord
The more abnormal genes of love sprout.
By the way I love you too, I know you love me
Sincerely, your daughter’s girlfriend.
Anusree Raveendran is a postgraduate student from Kerala, India.