Rikarda Elsa

“Everyone insists [motherhood] is her purpose, and it drives her mad, the idea that the shape of her body determines the shape her life must take.
That her beauty is something she is expected to pass on instead of keep.
That anything she makes will thrive while she is left to wither.”
― Victoria Schwab, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

“When I see the sun, I see you—
rising without fear,
burning without asking the sky for permission.

In your light, my fate awakens,
like dawn touching the quiet edges of my soul.

You are not just the shine—
you are the reason the morning believes in tomorrow.

And every golden ray that falls on my face
whispers softly,
“Love was written in light… and it looks like you.”
― Manmohan Mishra

“We Are Freedom Fighters (Sonnet 2260)

Right to leave religion is just
as fundamental as right to religion.
Freedom of dress is just
as important as freedom of the press.

Freedom to breastfeed without shame
is just as sacred as freedom to pray.
Freedom to choose not to have child
is just as respectable as motherhood.

Freedom to love outside tradition
is just as divine as jesus on the mount.
Freedom to dream across color and collar
is just as elemental as drinking water.

Any halfwit can write Declaration of Independence,
while denying people's rights behind closed doors.
My Declaration of World Independence is this,
rights of another only enhance my own.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Iftar-e Insaniyat: The First Supper

“The problem is that the spoiling of men is continued by marital expectation. Even in the most unconventional of set-ups, the free-thinking liberal man expects his woman to be at home serving his emotional needs when she may prefer to be free to do other things.”
― Paloma Faith, MILF: Motherhood, Identity, Love and F*ckery