I am a wife.
Not born, but forged.
Rich or poor—
does it matter?
The cage gleams the same.
I give, I bend, I hold,
and call it love.
You falter, you wound, you return—
and name it life.
I carry peace within,
so our world may breathe.
I ache unseen,
so dawn feels whole.
Your anger—my burden.
Your struggle—my weight.
Your victory—our pride.
The women beside me,
once brides,
now keepers of
shared, silent vows.
Yet I stand—
for our dreams,
for the life we weave
with tireless heart
and sleepless will.
When pain seeks to break me,
I rise again—
quiet, unbent, worn,
but unyielding.
They cannot chain my spirit.
Endurance is not surrender—
it is strength unspoken.
Still, I dream—
of joy without measure,
of love that sees.
One day, I will rise,
not to carry alone, but to live—
to claim the sky
beyond the cage
I've outgrown.
Susanta Pattnayak
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem