There was a time when I was a mischievous rat,
Carefree and willful; master of my own weensy world,
But they told me to grow up,
And I grew up from that,
They would ask me to smile,
Smile I should,
But I didn’t smile; I laughed.
Laughed a lot; to my heart’s content,
But they would say, “I laughed like the boys.”
Scolded me for being loud,
And I had to also change that,
They would ask me to walk,
Oh! That I did,
I ran like a cheetah,
Leaving them all behind,
But then they would frown upon me,
They would command,” Walk like a girl.”,
And when I was changing that,
I learnt that my freedom was bind,
Which was never given in kind.

They would order,
What I shall do and what I should not,
I grew up,
But in a cage,
I always questioned myself,
Did my life ever belong to me or...