The Peahens

For ages, people have wondered why

the peahen is bland and the peacock bright.

Not many know the real reason why;

the legend goes far and wide.

Once upon a time,

in some utopian prime,

peahens ran around freely all the while

doing everything their minds designed.

Spreading their wings in numerous ways,

as they all freely danced away.

Then one fateful day, came along the troubling tide.

The peacocks started to think of themselves as high;

higher than their very counterparts- what a plight!

This idea made their chests swell with pride.

At first, it was merely a bother to the hens

but then it grew and grew to grasp them all in clutches.

It was agonizing to have every other cock

display the ‘correct’ way of doing things round the clock.

How to spread their wings and how to dance

were now governed by ways that would put in a trance

the males who enjoyed the show;

that was all there was to know.

This went on for generations and generations,

and hope vanished like a train leaving the station.

After years of anguish, came another fateful day

when the peahens collectively decided to end it all away.

They gathered each one and spread the word

and together they did something that stirred,

and shocked the entire world, its children and its weather⁠—

the peahens were now devoid of all colourful feathers.

~Khyati