by Damini Yadav – Follow @browngirlmag
“There’s so much going on in the world.
I wish I could seal my ears shut to drain out the din,
I wish I could numb my brain before it dared to comprehend.
I wish I could not know, not see, not witness
Or partake in, the dehumanization of my humanity.
The city is in flames
The nation is two steps away from a moral Armageddon,
The people are either guilty of arson
Or busy building bomb shelters.
There’s too much going on in the world.
I wish I could stand tall and join the resistance,
I wish I could dismantle the hierarchies and the power structures.
Most of all, I wish I could save lives, save love
Or even save myself, but my voice is too small.
The noise of those who came before me,
Drowns my words away because they “reek of idealism”.
I am too much youth, too much color, too much of a woman,
Too much of a truth which attacks their privilege.
There’s a lot going on in this world.
I sit alone weaving poetry about the chaos,
The destruction that is inching closer towards me every second.
I sit alone racking my brain to find fitting words
For an apology or a eulogy or a letter,
To those who suffered.
I sit alone in my haven which I’m aware will collapse
Anytime soon, and so I’m scared,
Aren’t you?”
Damini Yadav is an 18-year-old almost high school graduate who is currently working as a pendulum bobbing between maintaining her sanity and giving her boards. She loves poetry, karaoke nights during mid-terms, the occasional wine and women. She aspires to become an Organizational Psychologist and has grown up to become exactly the mess she’d set out to become.
