-Anushka Saha

The darkest of our secrets,
Lurk in the shadows of our mind,

Whispering in each moment of silence.
A constant murmur of regret and guilt.
Compelling you to bury the collection of shattered pieces,
Each a story of a different sin.

What you see in the mirror,
Is a reflection of what civilization prefers,
A model of idealism and propriety.
And also the murderer of your truth.
The culprit of your nightmares,
Or rather the countless sleepless nights,
Caused by the indescribable anxiety to live up to society’s expectations.

But what drives this obsession
Of fitting people into moulds?
Is it the fear of anarchy?
Or the risk of collateral damage from individual liberty?
Whatever it is,
Is it worth sacrificing the counted days of precious life,
Before we return as dust to the earth’s soil?

Rome wasn’t built in day,
And nor were these restrictive mindsets.
It’s taken centuries of social conditioning,
And blind belief in the order of the world.
Unwinding it won’t be an easy task,
Especially with the evolving layers, disguised as a departure from the orthodox,
While it truly stems from the same origin.