She Sits Alone

When the praises and the applauses are done with When the words of congratulations And the exclamations of awe are done with She bids the world goodbye And wishes it to keep on revolving While she retreats to her haven Her room Her space Her sanctuary There, where she can be herself Where reflected all around her In millions and millions of mirrors Is her true self That which she keeps hidden But that which reveals itself Each time The praises and the applauses are done with! Why, there, in her secret garden Her growling monster wakes up And threatens to shake her image If she caters not to it And she, Like a dutiful slave Tends to it Without an ounce of regret! Then, when it goes to sleep, Once more, She sits alone And lets the sight of the moon Fill her with hopes Of someday being released While being still admired For the image that she so tirelessly Worked upon! She sits alone And lets the tears pour out She knows, simply That the praises and the applauses Would have not been articulated and performed If she had chosen To be herself, A mistress, having tamed A growling monster In the open face of society! Why, she sits alone And bites her lips While her heart wrenches Causing her tears to turn bloody She sits alone And wonders about what the rest of the world Does When, like her, They retreat to their own solace! For Contest She sits alone 4th August 2017