This poem is a humble gesture to mark the Pride Month! I remember writing it on the morning of the Indian festival of colours, Holi, when I meticulously thought of multiple colors and the archetypes associated with them. Then, it suddenly occurred to me that there are hardly any popular archetypes attached with the LGBTQ+ community except the Rainbow itself, and thus the poem emerged!

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The field blushed,

With men, women, and children,

Smearing each other

With many-hued gulaal!

The sky smiled

At the vivid rainbow,

Human-made this time.

The air smacked of bhang

They quaffed down,

To celebrate love with Colors -

pink, red, yellow and turquoise!

A color for each one -

Blue for boys and pink for girls,

And red for women perhaps,

To mark their marital bonds?

What’s my color then? No one told me,

Neither him nor her,

I'm neither he nor she

What’s my archetype?

I assume the ‘rainbow’ itself,

‘Cause I am multiple

Not one, not two, not three…

I am everyone of you,

Still no one I am,

And so, I play all colors

I celebrate each!

By Maitri Verma

From: India

Instagram: maitri.mv

Twitter: maitri0609