By Down the river, there’s a forlorn girl
Her hair’s a mess, her clothes are wrenched
She stares at her own shadow
Swallowing all the agony she’s felt
Her eyes are sallow
Filled with sorrow
Her heart’s in a quandary
Her thoughts carry fury
“What had she done to gain this pain?”
He was the one who did her wrong
But why did they accuse her?
As if she was the one who condemned
Her mother blamed her, her friends left her
Her strengths were ripped apart
Her rectitude became the talk of the town
The sin she’d never committed
They became an anthem to be sung on a symphony
Her misery became someone’s ecstasy
Nevertheless, she won’t let this melancholy take her place
She did no wrong
But did the people who put the onus on her
The offender should be punished
So should the one who left her side
After all, she’s the right to live a bright life
I tell her, I am by her side
I fight for her
Her pain signifies what many of us may feel afterward
So I am going to do everything with my might
Don’t leave her side
One day you may cry
She may be the victim today
God forbid, you might be tomorrow
Who knows!
-Leena Koirala
