---

I meet her every day in the mirror,

Morning she appears mystical somewhat omnipresent,

The coffee aroma settling like “Amrit”,

A peak into the afternoon and her reflection converges into self-questioning,

The Goddess with her hair loosely falling on the shoulders,

There she stands staring at the appalling accidents of life.

The next day she appears less submissive,

A proposal of ‘self-worth’ initiated through her big eyes,

Clad in a Maheshwari saree: the softness of the fabric misleading,

Kohl smeared eyes, red lips, the nose pin,

All the loyal accessories ready to devour the evil,

The Alta feet soft yet tough to re-define destiny.

The pallu of the saree declaring to me: don’t hold me!

Affirmative , I nod my head as I stare into the mirror,

The Goddess finally emerges from the gush of incense sticks,

“Where have you been so long?” I ask,

She merely opens her eyes: a testimony to her powerful yet assuring gaze,

The Goddess, the Devi has finally arrived: calculative yet proportional inside me!

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Rajshree is from the defence forces. Married to Olive green, to her patriotism is a synonymous blend. Her father COL.KS RATHORE, is a gallantry award winner, Kirti Chakra. She is a classical dancer (Odissi), a voice over artist and a poetess at heart. Culmination of art and literature has held her pen over the years beginning as a child and deepened her understanding of aesthetics. It has sharpened her philosophical edge and made words pliable. Her genre of poetry is such where words are living entities, encircling and sometimes questioning the connotations of life. It has made the seeker in her more pronouncedand at times differential too. As an Indian classical dancer (Odissi) movements and words have been a constant engagement to her. Her works have found place in Asian Literary society, the poetry circle and the literature festival at Himachal Pradesh. Growing up reading Rabindranath Tagore, Khushwant Singh to Amrita Pritam, feminism has also impacted her thought process. John Keats and William Wordsworth have inspired her sense ‘creative imagery’. In her journey from childhood to adulthood poems have consciously reminded her to ‘stay’ in the moment yet continue to dream.