That night, I remember바카라 웹사이트
Something splashed on my face
It burned me like a piece of plastic
twisting and turning and twitching바카라 웹사이트
gobbling up my ears and eyes바카라 웹사이트
and all of it merging with skin
More than life바카라 웹사이트
I prayed for death
which was easier to get at that moment
I felt defeated
My parents helpless
After several days바카라 웹사이트
I find myself under medical care
writing a terrible fate바카라 웹사이트
that even time cannot erase
I was saved바카라 웹사이트
with eighty percent burns
promising perpetual pain
with someone's fragile ego etched on my face
How easily he took away my right to be바카라 웹사이트
The price of assertion was heavy
I wasn't ready to pay
My screams still catch me unawares
It's been a decade since
acid was once thrown with full force
But society reminds me everyday
The piercing eyes and words and questions
apparently with no intention of hurting
kills me, slow and steady
But I'm still living
Where your courage ends, my begins!
On Hold
Today I put everything on hold
I baked veggies to make it quick바카라 웹사이트
instead of a complete meal바카라 웹사이트
of dal, gravy, rice, chapati
and I felt a sudden ease
as I indulge in looking at the melting cheese
slowly turning brown in microwave
I finally found twenty fifth hour of the day
I took a leisure stroll without a smart watch
instead of a compulsive brisk walk바카라 웹사이트
just to be present in the moment
and I found new meaning in the same old song
That touched a nerve, I didn't know ever existed
I called off meetings바카라 웹사이트
without making excuses or uttering
futile lies and I found ways to take바카라 웹사이트
a glimpse of my bucket list
that has outgrown my tiny fist바카라 웹사이트
unnoticed over the years
I didn't answer any calls today바카라 웹사이트
and I noticed바카라 웹사이트
the sweat of summer making its way바카라 웹사이트
down the spine through the waist
of my ancient body
still waiting to be praised
I put everything on hold
because the ticking of clock was beyond control
It has its own pace, own ways
emotionless and detached
I'm not a clock so I slow down
I need breaks
Slowing down, taking breaks are so underrated
Deal With It
You have two ways to바카라 웹사이트
deal with바카라 웹사이트dire disaster바카라 웹사이트
and wild waves of wicked weather바카라 웹사이트
Padlock the panes,바카라 웹사이트
draw the curtains
put the phone on flight mode
and firmly latch the door바카라 웹사이트
So the sunset won’t바카라 웹사이트
see you stain your pillow
Let no fleeting flow바카라 웹사이트
of oxygen sneak in
Let there be overthinking,바카라 웹사이트
Overwhelming you again and again
Until the looming wrenching pain바카라 웹사이트
kills you, destroys your senses
and you turn into바카라 웹사이트a bloodless mess
you become a mere relic of your own being
Other way is to
Unlatch the door,
Until you are drunk on바카라 웹사이트
vital elixir to the core
Until the callous candour바카라 웹사이트
pierces your bones
Fling yourself into the bed,바카라 웹사이트
be bare, brave and bold바카라 웹사이트
tell yourself to be a brash
Believe,바카라 웹사이트
this too shall pass!
BIO바카라 웹사이트
(Pragya Bajpai, Ph.D. is a Central Government Officer serving on the faculty of English at the prestigious National Defence Academy, Pune.Her debut book, A Potpourri of Proverbs,바카라 웹사이트a collection of poems based on 51 English proverbs was published in 2021. She has co-edited four anthologies;바카라 웹사이트Unkahi: The Unsung바카라 웹사이트(2021), The Force is With Us: An International Anthology Celebrating the Armed Forces바카라 웹사이트(2022) and Memoirs of Covid Warriors in Olive Green (2022), and fourth being an anthology of Hindi poems titled Dabe Paanv (2022) to her credit.)
