The sparkle on her face made them all gasp,

The edge of her sword gleamed, as she did clasp

Its hilt, ready to risk all for the royal child’s life,

This queen’s attendant who faced a hazardous life, full of strife.

History has it that she sacrificed her own little Chandan,

The brave Panna Bai, a mother at heart, second to none,

She rescued Prince Uday Singh from a murderer’s grasp,

Undeterred even by the sound of her baby’s death rasp.

Right through history to the modern day and age,

Stories abound across aeons, through book and page,

Amazon women, each striding like a colossus, head held high,

Braving perils, meeting life head-on, unafraid to die!

Even today, these Amazons still exist, though in different forms,

One finds them when one sifts through society’s mores and norms,

The mother whose child is threatened, turns into a tigress untamed,

The wife who turns into Kannagi when her husband is unjustly blamed!

The intrepid daughter who sets out her parents’ ruin to avenge,

The firebrands who plan out their molested sisters’ revenge,

The activists who cite POCSO, when a child has been harmed

The lawyers contesting the loss of truth, hoping for lives charmed.

Aren’t these Amazon women, though they carry no swords?

As they hurtle through life, trying to lessen the weight of others’ loads?

They may not wear silk, their tiaras may not sparkle bright,

What shines forth is their conviction, their resolve to do right!

Let us all, dear sisters, take a precious page out of their book,

Find in the whole wild world our own protective nook,

Do great things, heads held high, instead of meekly falling in line.

Remember! Never let anything dim our own unique shine!