THE
TRIAL
- Tapan
Kumar Pradhan (India)
Are you sure this is what
happened –
Your statement, I mean
is it all true ?
How
many times shall one speak under oath? I was a child
I used to dream a lot – during daytime, even in classroom
Sometimes teacher asked something, and I answered
hurriedly, and all the girls burst out laughing, laughing...
But there is not a single
injury. No tear
on the clothes. I mean, no signs
of any struggle at all
Father
took me once to the butcher’s shop
I saw the giant steel blade glisten, dripping red
With a single white flash the bird was silent
Not even a flutter in the wings, no croaking
Can you tell exactly how it
happened, I mean
Exact position. How many were
they
Exact places they touched
it was a narrow alley where even noon
was dark
a bearded shopkeeper used to sit me on his lap
and offer me candies (and a doll). Later the boys
snatched my doll away, and pulled out all its hairs
I cried, but they put two oranges inside my frock
And pressed till I was drenched. Holy cow, they teased
Our lady officer who did the
finger tests
has this to say, I mean – how do
I
I mean, you are habituated
Yep, the campus does it to you, as you
sleepwalk
into smoking den sat 2 am, before its lonely nights
devour you. If you kept away, you did not belong
The dress you were wearing that
night
Is it, I mean -is this what
You normally wear?
I was a rebel girl. That little pink
double frilled frock
My dead mom got stitched for my
twelfth birthday
I hated it. The moment I reached home
I threw it
On the floor. Tomboy – they called me.
Tomboy
But you did know all of them,
didn’t you
You knew ‘em for last six months
You visited that flat earlier
Yes! Yes! I did all that. Yes, I alone am guilty!
Hang me. Shoot me. Rip open my abdomen
Bloody finish the work you’ve already started
Long ago.
****