in honor of lakshmi, long may she reign

By Noor Mehta

MAR 12, 2024

i turned twenty one and donned girlhood. 

the following hangs inside the closet of my society’s making: 

seven saris, nine pairs of teetering heels, every single person 

i couldn’t bear to keep but somehow cannot forget. my body, 

soft and protruding in all the right places—collarbones, chest, 

the points of my hips scraping like knives to my flesh, 

weaponry to keep the people away. 


when i find the right one, i will let them in and 

smother the urge to turn the sharp edges on myself.

so here i am with no fight nor turning back. 

light limns the frame. i turn away from the door 

but cannot ignore the spaces: outside air stubborn. 

then waiting. rushing in.

Noor Mehta is an international affairs and anthropology major at Northeastern University.