The Enigma of the Little Girl in Pigtails

An evocative poem by Shernaz about individuals who find themselves directionless and isolated in a concrete jungle, grappling with unresolved inner conflicts, exclusively for Different Truths.

I: wandering in a concrete jungle
   directionless, frightened, stumbling
      in search of obliterated destinations

They: the ones I wanted to appease…
    for applause and accolades
      are now blind to my isolation

 That little girl in pigtails: I once knew her

she runs behind me
heckling, gesturing...
her mocking laughter
cackles out of the murk I am stuck in

I pick a stone, fling it. She boos, then vanishes.
   I feel abandoned. Strange!

The girl with pigtails: she had great aspirations
.
rainbows collapse in my eyes ~
vitreous floaters
now refract vision
    throwing up phantom images…

I flounder. Bits of unresolved conundrums
form an intricate maze to trap me
    Is this a wasteland of the inner being?
 
I awaken from the edge of a defining dream!

Picture design Anumita Roy