By Mishika Kapoor, 19, India

Those Scars

The scars prominent

Fevering the skin into dominance

The splashes still alive

Burning my heart from inside

Bruised face I hide behind the veil

Cause no one will stand for my pain

My eyes rain heavily

But emotions go silent

If I speak out people will talk

Such are the words I hear on loop

Will I hide all life

Covering my face can I survive

The revenge was baseless

Denial was my decision

But it wasn't respected,

I was abused, and lashes were painted on my face

A small ego destroyed my existence

For them it was a joke

But my whole life will rot

They are laughing while I cry in pain

I won’t sit behind bars

It wasn't even my fault

The guilt will cry

Many more like me will come out with pride

I will voice against the wrong

Acid attacks are not cool at all

The bruises burns the heart

Ripping the soul deeply apart

Fallen Stars

Sitting under the open sky

Gazing, as the stars fly

In the embrace of winters

Feeling frozen even around cinders

I think about the world

And my mind all swirled

A muse with the stars

The future bars.

My fallen stars

Jingling at my door while playing guitar

For I never wanted the story to end

YOU were a blessing to me, Oh Friend!

A magical spell so pale

Just like the fairy-tale

Of Prince, Princess and the Magic Hat

People said, ‘life isn’t like that’.

‘There are no wonderlands, no magic’.

But still I had dreams, such dramatic

My magic spell got shattered and frozen

Leaving just a soul completely broken

Which was mine, such a plight

Was the world right………?

Mishika Kapoor is a 19-year-old student studying Medicine who has had two volumes ov her poems published. “Being from India, I have seen women go through a lot since my childhood. Women choose to keep quiet due to societal pressure, and this is what I want to stand up for. I think women are no less than men, and men have no right to violate women or their rights.” Mishika wants to motivate women to speak out and change this patriarchal society. She has been writing since she was four, and her poems have been published in various national and international journals.