A life less ordinary

They say I was too ambitious. I had searing social aspirations.
They say I was determined to live a life less ordinary.
They say I used my sex for money, power, and fame.
They went to my dressing table
And they found a few bottles of perfume
And a few blunted lipsticks -
-- I liked the good things in life, I liked dressing up --
My husband, my protector, my defender, my life partner - told them.
They went to my children,
My teenage son and my seven year old daughter,
And asked them questions about me, their mother.
They say I did not follow the laws of morality,
Set by the high and mighty,
And so was taught a lesson.
Such squalid people like me should never be forgiven, they say,
So I deserved the squalid nala they dumped me in.
They say I overplayed my hand, so I had it coming.
Pieces of burnt bones, a tooth, a broken locket, a toe ring, and a watch - I am Bhanwari Devi.