Best Poems Written by Lakshmi Cheriyanath

Hush

Hush...
She needs to sleep.
All of you,
Don't keep her awake anymore.
It's been months.
She's tired.
"You are not clean enough!" 
"Remember him groping you?" 
"You can't stay friends with anyone for long." 
"Don't eat this, you're growing fatter." 
All you voices, shut up! 
She's closing her eyes
She'll be asleep soon.
 
Hush... 
She's awake again
And can't move or breathe or make a sound
That's him breathing down her neck, 
His hands on her. 
Get off her! 
She doesn't want to see you anymore. 
You've ruined her childhood and more. 
Leave her alone. 
Let her sleep you nightmare. 

She's out of her bed
Pacing up and down her room
Not knowing what to do, 
Trying to calm all the voices in her. 
Yet louder and louder you get. 
She wants to scream too, 
Over all of you. 
You refuse to keep quiet
And push her 
To her one dreaded resort. 
Stunts, some of you may call it. 
But for her it's the only way of numbing everything, 
Hushing all the voices. 
And she regrets it the next day
For the scars left on her. 

Please, for once, 
Let her take control. 
You voices, listen to her. 
Don't tie her up. 
She's pleading with you. 
Leave her alone. 
She needs sleep 
She deserves peace.

Copyright © Lakshmi Cheriyanath | Year Posted 2020