Whether it was a curse

of an ever irascible Rishi,

Or a convenient bout 

of amnesia that suddenly 

enthralled a philandering king,

after an initial heartbreak 

Shakuntala didn’t care. 

No stranger to desertion

by a bored mother 

and a detached father

she gathered all the fortitude 

and moved deep into the forest

A single parent to Bharat, 

who played with lion cubs

and was breastfed valour

That gushed through her veins.