The demons within

Kaikeyi could ask as she had been granted two vouchers to redeem,
Otherwise the palace women had no voice or wish, or so it seemed.

So when Surpanakha spoke boldly and upset the apple cart,
To cover up their nervousness, the men called her a tart.

A woman’s outspoken desires cause consternation,
The flustered listeners resorted to mutilation.

Ravana wasn’t the chestbeater to whine that his venerable nose had been obliterated by his sister’s act,
But the princes proceeded to destroy Surpanakha’s, one with violence, the other being complicit in the pact.

While the justice league smirked and thought that they had served an ace,
Posterity wonders if by cutting off Surpanakha’s nose, they did not spite their own face.

First published in Hakara, 15 Jan 2018.