"Autumn in November"

A Shy Smile
And then a Lingering Tear
Shimmering High in Pink
In the Royal Spotlight on Stage
And then Crushed Down
By the Loss of a Grandma
Traveling to a City of Lights, Cameras, and Babies
Longing for the Protective Voice
Of an Older Brother
Making those Timely Payments
On the Brink of a New Business
And the Passion of a Romantic Adventure
An Autumn in Boston
From a Freezing Girl
With Ankle Booties
Struggling to Feel Whole

"A Ma to Remember"

From the time when dowries and domestic work
Were your ticket to life
Your love for something deeper
Sprouted a Samaj of sisters

They toiled in the streets
Without the basic amenities of sanitation
They walked in the gulleys
Clad in soiled saris
Lives of submission
Barefoot and unknown

Yet through the marches of sisters
You led them along Boring Road
With the branded scars of their husbands
The female voices of Mahila Samaj
Collectively echoed from the streets of Bihar

And when you were behind bars
For a worldwide mission
You began a Pachamba House tradition

And in your heart
You buried within
The key to empower
Your sisters
To sing.

-In honor of my loving grandmother, Urmila Prasad, who among her many roles, was a dedicated social activist and President of Mahila Samaj, a women's rights activist group in Bihar.