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