Veil

She shelters it under

a shield, that they call

a veil or a wrap

a shroud to silence an eclipse

or her act of apology

for being Eve's daughter

she has no excuse to dump

the drape, sun shade for some

refuge for others,

she swears by that

piece of cloth

to avert the mimicry

of misunderstood metaphors,

as she buries her head in

the cloak of the crown

the inane irony leads

to a soundless squeal,

of rights resigned

in rueful regret,

ebbing in echo of

homage to the head

to whom her entirety is entailed

or a smack of

scriptural severity

for many,

assertion not allowed

for their blindfolds

were sewed to be

her burial cloth.