I am Kaur: A Poem

by Alamjeet Kaur

Dhan Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj

I am Kaur
They called me weak,
They said that I’m powerless,
They said that I’m not worthy of your love,
They said that the turban is only worn by Sikh men,
They said that women are lowest of the low,
They said that women can be beaten for no particular reason,
They told me to stay quiet,
They told me to be shy,
They told me to follow the societal norms,
They killed me before I was even born,
They tried to cage me,
They tried to clip my wings,
They tried to dishonor me,
They tried to take away my identity,
They tried to take me away from you,
But, you my Vaheguru, blessed me with strength and stability,
You blessed me with the turban that I tie on my head with pride,
You blessed me with a kirpan that I use to protect my honour,
You blessed me with amrit that gave me a sense of belonging to the Khalsa panth,
You gave me the power to stand up for justice and righteousness,
You defended me when the rest of the world was against me,
You told everyone, “so kio mandhaa aakheeai jith janmehi raajan ||” (SGGS Ang 473)
You promoted equality,
You made me feel precious,
You saved me from the horrors of worldly pleasures,
I have come to your sanctuary,
I seek support only from you Vaheguru,
Make me feel worthy of your love,
Bless me with your divine presence,
Hold onto me and never let me go.

Through the poem, I am showing that I am a confident and a brave daughter of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The struggles that women around the world have faced in the past, and continue to face daily, is another reason for me to write this poem. I’m hoping to inspire Kaurs around the world to not feel inferior to anyone and to take a stand when needed. Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj blessed us with a unique identity, which among many things, signifies strength and bravery.

I felt the need to portray my emotions through both photography as well as poetry. The main focus of the picture is on my face and the rest of the photo is blurred, which provides a good depth of field. The mirror in the photo has a pearl border, which represents royalty. Since one of the meanings of Kaur is princess, I tried to demonstrate that through the pearl studded mirror. I am looking at myself in the mirror with intense expressions because I am trying to figure out who I am and where I belong. I wanted to mainly focus on my face and reduce distractions by making the background black and white. Also, I think that I'm not worthy of Vaheguru's love and I demonstrated that through the black and white colour. However, my reflection in the mirror is like the reflection of my soul and how Vaheguru sees me. One of the interpretations of the colourful reflection can also be that sometimes we make mistakes and believe that we don't deserve Vaheguru's love, but Vaheguru is without hate. Vaheguru loves us without any conditions.

Dhan Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj

Alamjeet Kaur is currently pursuing a Master's in Neurophysiology at Queen's University (Ontario). She is the process of compiling her poetry into a book: Journey to the Infinite. In her free time, Kaur is a part time photographer.