She stands by the lake for hours together.
A still, frozen statue with out a clue.
Peering unblinkingly in the water?
Waiting until the sky turns black from blue?
Dips her toe in and quickly pulls it out.
Was thrown overboard when she was younger.
Did she cry out but no one heard her shout?
Who did hurt this gentle child, I wonder?
Traumas of the past linger for ages.
Creep up slowly when no one is around.
Birds with their wings clipped locked inside cages.
Sometimes sweet innocence is cruelly drowned.
Her limbs entangled with vines in her dreams.
The uncaring world ignores her quiet screams.
– Sulekha
HI Sulekha. So good to meet you here on your blog after a looooong time. This poem beautifully captures the silent weight of past traumas and the lingering fear they leave behind. Love the way you have created the imagery with your words which is haunting yet poignant, I can feel the depth of her unspoken pain. Wow!!
Hi Shilpa, it’s been really long.I had a rough time the past few years because words wouldn’t form in my mind and I couldn’t write. The writer’s block was real in my case or so I thought. I have managed to get past it and just started writing. I aim to participate in the A to Z challenge this year after a long gap of many years. Loved reading your lovely comment on my poem. Thanks 🙂
You’ve expressed the impact of trauma so well, Sulekha! Beautiful imagery…love it!
Thank you so much. I am getting back to writing one poem at a time.
So glad to see you writing regularly Sulekha. This is such a sad poignant piece. Do our traumas ever really leave us?
Tulika, thank you. The BAR group with amazing writers and a welcome space to express and share posts was instrumental in my overcoming the writer’s block. I pondered over what to write for a long time before this poem came into being.