An inward-looking dark poem, by Anoucheka, exclusively for Different Truths

Dawn seeped in
After a night during which
I battled calamities with my
Own shadow, which kept growling
At me, pushing me to inject
In my blood, that transparent
Liquid which can give me wings
For a while, having me forget
About the thorns that adorn my dress,
Those same which make of life
A disease seeking solely
To be given a vaccine to get cured!
Peers, who, like me,
Wanted a shot of magic
To give themselves
Another chance at life!
 
I looked at my reflection in my mirror,
My unkempt hair and the dark circles
Under my eyes could have easily
Qualified me for getting a role
In a horror movie
While the stale smell emanating from
My unwashed body could have killed
Even a skunk!
 
Why, nobody even tries to knock on my door
To take note of how I am keeping myself
Nobody even bothers,
Nobody even cares
And life is like a poisonous creeper
Which has invaded every cell of my body
Wanting to conquer me and to push me
To my knees so as to have me regret
The simple fact that I dared take birth
To suffer for my past sins!
 
But the syringe and the needle that I used
Last night are still here
And I have my supplies for at least a week,
After which I would need to find some ways
To get some more money to replenish my stock!
 
This invisible liquid is a boon, a gift,
It is that which adds fragrance to my corpse
That which makes me forget that along
With the bloom that I am, I carry thorns as well,
So,
I asked my reflection in the mirror,
Why not?

Visuals by Different Truths

Anoucheka Gangabissoon

Anoucheka Gangabissoon is a primary school educator in Mauritius. She writes poems and short stories on a wide range of subjects. She publishes regularly on online poetry sites and manages her own poetry blog. She has published a collection of poems in print, in her country, titled “Awakened Fancies.”