Being Feminine

Every time I try to break the barriers, and the banalities

 My role as a woman is being persistently questioned.

My benevolence as a female who is the epitome of benign kindness is in jeopardy.

My existence as a human being is growing in precarity

Being overshadowed by my existence as a woman.

"Women aren't supposed to shout like that", they said

They gave me a cold stare everytime I raised an eyebrow and my voice

They did not find me 'feminine' enough.

They said I did not duplicate Goddess Lakhshmi in my posture and actions

I questioned why Lakhsmi?

I could be Kali and still bear equanimity!

They snapped at me again for trying to defy the norms

.For not paying heed to their exigencies 

They said this might be my worst deluge of mistakes

Not being coy enough Not nodding to their patriarchal rants.

Trying to  break free from the shackles of a dismembered identity.

If being vociferous meant being less of a woman

I am better that way!

Looking for something more tangible than 'being feminine'.