Pondering over my favourite classics, I realized they were all feminist in nature; I recalled reading somewhere that real true love can only be adulterous/ or forbidden love; may be because it thrives and survives against all odds?


Women of True Love

Oh! Anna, Hester, Emma & Tess,
You the embodiment of Cleopatra,
Nefretiti, Helen & Bathsheba* –
The goddesses of true love-
Must have felt alone and oppressed,
Ostracized for the sins never committed
Punished for Love-
Love from your life-book omitted-
Hated because you loved to love
Misunderstood because you understood
the meaning of life, the meaning of love,
Because you had the courage to strive
for higher meaning of life...
You, who so loved to live,
Oh! The humiliation you had to bear
At the hands of others, who happiness fear
Made to wear a scarlet 'A'
Over your bosom,
Your very heart,
Where, your life blood flowing
was made to stay...
Who understood your passion unbridled
for love, to which you were so Fidel?
You gave up life of comfort and peace
To wander in the dark woods of agony-
Agony that follows ecstasy-
The ecstasy, which is so short-lived,
That ends up always in such tragedy,
Named by orthodoxy as heresy...
Who understood your thirst to live?
Your cravings for the heart to beat
To experience the flow of blood
Through the veins like a flood
To taste the wine of passion deep;
To live your life full-bloodedly
was not what world wanted of thee
Envious of you inwardly
It would rather you submitted to
The arduousness' of the meek and weak
Who live by the rules, made to defeat
The very meaning of love & life by deceit
To be 'prim and 'propeh'
Living the life of mock pleasure
(Always in the realm of love a pauper...)
It would rather you conformed to the rules
- Deception and treachery-
Of passing the life by unlived, unfelt
& Remain
That which you're meant to be:
'Everybody's-fool'!



Author: Zoya Zaidi
Aligarh (UP), India
Copyright©: Zoya Zaidi


*Anna Karenina- main protagonist of Lev Tolstoy's Russian classic of the same name
*Hester- Hester Prynne of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter
*Emma- Emma Bovary of French classic Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
*Tess- Tess of the d'Urbervilles of Thomas Hardy's masterpiece
*Cleopatra- Cleopatra (69-30BC) Queen of Egypt, wife of Juleas Ceaser of Rome, consort of Anthony, who fearing humiliation in Octavian's triumph in Rome commited suicide by getting her self stung by a poisonous asp.
*Nefretiti- or Nefretete (fl. c.1372-1350) queen of ancient Egypt, wife of Ikhnaton & aunt of Tutankhamen, their rule was of great social and cultural change, she an epitome of beauty grace and power
*Helen- Helen of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, daughter of Zeus and Leda, wife of Melenaus of Sparta, whose abduction by Trojan prince Paris led to a ten year siege and subsequent sacking of Troy
*Bathsheba- Bathsheba first adulterous beloved of David (c.1012-c.972 B.C.), the king of Judah (former Israel), slayer of Goliath, the Philistine giant, later his wife and queen




Poetry by Zoya Zaidi
Read 1749 times
Written on 2006-03-12 at 10:16

Tags Feminism 

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she
I took your advice and I dont regret it one bit!!!!!!This is so beautiful am pracically sitting at the edge of my chair and I was thinking "all of this is so true".Funny thing is that I was doing research on feminism some time ago and its like you stole my term paper!!!Everything you have written here is in perfect synchrony.Now this is what I call a work of art.Thumbs up,girl!!!I'm proud.
2006-03-21


Feiyn
A very powerful poem and very true! Also completely captivating.
2006-03-20


Rune Ljungberg
I love your classical approach.
2006-03-18


R.K.Singh
What you say about forbidden love or true love as adulterous sounds NATURAL. I remember to have read somewhere that Shelley also characterised SIN as beautiful-- beautiful like sin, he said in a context. If one views love as something NON-MORAL, or one is NON-MORAL in various relationships, one won't suffer the crises Emma, Tess, or Hester suffered.
2006-03-16


GB
Such a beautiful piece here , Z . A history lesson of love and life . Had to read it a couple of times to fully understand , and ejoy this tale . Well done ! .... G
2006-03-16


penfold18
very interesting indeed , I'm not sure I believe that only true love has to be of an adulterous nature, though it does add danger and excitement I suppose as well as the profile of powerful lovers throughout history is often wrapped in tragedy and mystery well done Zoya.
2006-03-12


Rhia
amazing. . .simply amazing as always. I loved it so much. it was all so true to. these are the women i look up to, the women i aspire to, they were all so special, and mistreated, but yet they were the only ones who realy did know love in its purest form. Congratulations on a beautiful piece of poetry.
~rhia
2006-03-12



You're so right, my dear! And if these ladies had been men, they would NEVER have been humiliated and despised.
Vivamus atque amemus!
= Let's live and let's love!
2006-03-12


Alexander
Amazing. Well written my friend. You amaze me as usual. This poem makes you think.

Alex
2006-03-12


Veld Cooper
Much truth in here,Zoya, dear. Good to see you banging the drum for women the world over, once again!
2006-03-12


lastromantichero The PoetBay support member heart!
hey Zoya a thought i had never seen true love an adulterous nature well don for all the explanation and for the content of this piece you are an outstanding poet rgds mike
2006-03-12


Marie
Hmm...interesting.
Unsure of what else to say!
Beautiful words Zoya!
2006-03-12