Inner Child
/With years slipping by I yearn to be
with my inner child.
She never asked too much except for
a few things that were her birthright.
Yet she was denied every single thing
she had desired.
Battered by endless privations she banished
all hope of a good life.
Meek and silent she became, enduring
everything that came her way.
Peers and elders didn’t like her
but not a single word did she utter.
For she had understood the kind of life
the gods had granted her.
Mettle and resilience she had shown
but the curse remained unbroken.
For misery and pain would visit her
quite often.
Stars were amazed to see her strength
with winds providing her a fresh new breath.
She continued to tread the path unknown
into a world to which she never belonged.
Oh! how profoundly I want to be reunited with her
but she’s nowhere to be found.
By Muskan Antil
From: India