Between The Pages: A Quiet Rebellion

By Pujita Ganotra

They say don't just stay in the corner

Come out and have fun

Don't hide behind your bookshelf

Learn to ask for help

Stop being so boring 

Come out of your shell

You can leave the room if you've got nothing to tell

So, I just do that but stop at the doorframe 

I wonder why the other kids and I can't be the same. 

At this realisation, tears prickle my eyes

Gosh why can't they understand that I've honestly tried! 

I went to a party, you know

There were all kids with whom I grew

They were laughing and joking around

I was just there, awkward, making no sound

Then I went to the library

Bought a book on how to be cool

Apparently buying a book about it made me seem like a tool

But I didn't give up 

I wanted to be the girl whom they considered 'cool' 

I changed all my wardrobe

I changed all my clothes

I tried to be the girl who talks

I'm the quiet kid

You must've gathered as much

The girl who's never included 

I guess that's what made me too secluded 

Don't even start about the birthdays

Because they are the worst

When you're not even anyone's priorities

Not second and not even third

I mean it happens, you know 

When you kind of grow

You've got to be interesting

But it's all for the show 

So I stay away from the mean girls with the perfect curls 

Just thought of talking to them makes my stomach churn

But they've got these thin bodies and cheeks that glow 

Meanwhile I stare from the corner like the side character in her own show 

So where do I go?

I ask myself

Since I have already established

That I don't ask for help

I go to the one place that doesn't judge

This place is like my only home 

In the world that stares and compares

Books have always been there 

From being a kid to a teen to an adult

They've always made me feel loved

So, I stay right there 

Between the dark wooden isles

I guess I've always

Ever since I was a child 

So, it's safe to say that I won't come out 

I will stay here to scream and shout 

For I won't let them see the effect they have on me 

I'd rather stay in this world of make believe

By Pujita Ganotra