Courtesy: Poets United
She was lust fodder.
So she had to be sold and cooked
in dark flames of lecherous greed.
Yet she couldn’t be consumed
for she’s to be an undying candle flame
flinging away night around her.
Here is a LINK, the source of my poem
Posted for Susan’s Midweek Motif ~ Human Trafficking @ Poets United
sumanar/lekha 
Bless her! Bless you for your awesome spare and visual metaphors!
Human trafficking is awful. Hard to find the words.
Beautifully handled – so delicate and yet powerful
Very good, I can only echo the other comments
Oh my goodness, Sumana, I read the article you linked to. It is unimaginable that this sort of thing is happening – in the MILLIONS – while the world goes merrily on. While I sit in comfort and peace through the sheer luck of having been born where I was, to the people I was born to. Thank you for this heartbreaking example, which puts a human face on all the suffering.
Every word of your poem bears vivid imagery of the stench that is human trafficking. And the end is a stamp of resilience, the unfailing human spirit.
Great poem.
…lust fodder… sold and cooked in dark flames… powerful imagery that tells a tale of human inhumanity. Perfect.
Admire how you worked in Hope
This is powerful and painful poem. Not only for the reader but also for you Sumana as it is in your own country this is happening. The readers immediate thought is what is being done about it in democracy such as India and in so many other parts of the world? Why do we turn our eyes away and do nothing expecting others to act?
Exactly Robin, we do absolutely nothing and expect others to do everything. Such self centered creatures we have become, specially in the Indian sub continent. India has always from time immemorial remained a great place to exploit and plunder. I am glad even in its heyday this country of ours never thought of aggression. In 1947 this land was partitioned into three parts by political goons and still now there are constant fight by the separatists from neighboring countries to clinch a part of it. This land of ours has given shelter to millions of refugees for thousands of years. Now over populated India is struggling to have a square meal daily.
The saddest summary of life contains in descriptions: the plight of her saddens me, Sumana!Beautifully written,,,
I like the imagery of the undying candle flame. It speaks of hope in the face of unimaginable suffering.
So powerful, in so few words Sumana. Bravo 🙂
Your poem & the article you shared break both break my heart, Sumana. And humans are said to be the highest of God’s creatures – one would never know by our actions. Who would have thought that humans would sell one another like this! How can they sleep at night?
Powerful. The second stanza really hit me.