… because it’s about my first home

Vijaya Laxmi Karki
Photo by Bijay Tamrakar

When I think of periods I remember those 288 hours of imprisonment

for

 I started bleeding through my womb. नछुने भएँ रे ! पर सरेँ रे !

When I think of period I remember all those red patched skirts, pants, trousers, stockings and panties!

Well, I always had a bag of tricks to hide such patches!

When I think of period I smell Blood; River of Blood

as depicted by Lucille Clifton in her poem

beautiful and faithful and ancient and female and brave

When I think of period I feel painful yet passionate about the sex I belong to – FEMALE

When I think of period I remember my mother’s womb through which she used to bleed;

my home where I took the first breath of this life.

(Karki is a Theatre Practitioner.)