Just a June

-
I have a new voice now-
silver partitions in my hair
Thick silk laughter ringing in my ear

I have a new tread, 
Of 
slow freedoms

I've traded style for smile
And reason for treason


My brastraps hold me in place 
Even as i get unsettled with this pace

I have a new fear of freedom and an old rebellion for a joke

As my vanity roosts inside a pair of unused heels
All of my loves lay buried in time's wheels

Sometimes I think I am a woman now, but then maybe I am just June

One step and two missteps
my new dance

Perchance -
i am now perched on a new romance

Womanhood crept on me like a silent dry cough-
Caught me by the bone
And made a strange rattle 
that only I could hear alone.

Lakshmi Ajay

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