Published on allpoetry.com.
Busy markets, crowded schools
Car drivers cursing under their breath
Office goers swarming like bees
Inside overcrowded compartments
I thought to myself
“What a mundane life!”
Is this a bigger rattrap?
Wealth and status, the baits?
Days passed
With no ray of hope
Out of the blue
A remarkable event
News readers parroted mechanically
The same wicked words
An infectious Agent
Seeped into the human body
Connecting them nonchalantly
But only to cause disharmony
A small chain
Elongated further and further
Across cities, countries, and continents
Unrelenting, persistent
The monster took charge
Mask up, wash hands, stay home
Became the universal slogan
Replacing friendly banters
With thoughts and prayers
Is this a signal
To mask our agony?
Wash our hopes for the future?
Remain inside the mental prison?
The questions of the smirky inner demon
It’s a lesson, a tricky one
On embracing vulnerability
Filling our hearts with hopes of love
Breaking free of our mental barriers
Answered the inner goddess while smiling reassuringly
It’s been a year, and nothing has changed
Yet, I choose to believe her.
Akkshaya Varkhedi 