Where are we even headed to?
Moving at the speed of light
So numbed down,
we hardly feel the flight.
Driving around in a maze
Pretending we could trust the map
Handed to us, so we're stuck in this loop,
wearied out, lobotomized.
Tinted windows never rolled down
Too afraid to let the wind ramble
For it might tell you truths that hurt
Truths you block out, for comfort.
Never letting the naked eye see
Zombies behind a camera lens
Painting dull frames with pretty hues
Thank God for filters that mask the blues.
Building walls around you thick and high
Of caste, of colour and injected hate.
Pointing a gun at the figure ahead
Not knowing it's you on a shadow screen.
Never the sail fully opened out
Too scared the wind might slow you down
Or take you to waters not marked out
To islands that don't house your tepid towns.
Scared to stop for even just a while
Lest you fall behind on track
What a shame it would be to slack
To not be part of the winning pack.
But it is a race you can never win
You're always short by a foot, by an inch.
And if you reach the mountain top
There are higher ones to climb, to scour.
This is a game you can never win
Designed to make you think you can.
So sit back, relax,
Roll down that glass
Feel the wind as it knots your hair
Listen to it sing, open your ears.
Take a left where the map says right
Learn to let go of things you were told to hold tight.
One day may be you'll reach somewhere
From where you needn't run in despair.
- Ardhra Prakash
(July, 2019)
- Ardhra Prakash
(July, 2019)
