I Am Me

By Harsha Dedhia

Yes! I may not meet your beauty benchmark

But my heart is pure and my soul is stark

Yes! I don’t belong to your caste or creed

But I am flesh with feelings from a human breed

Yes! I may differ with your orders and opinions

But I defy rules and follow my heart’s discipline

Yes! I may be far from perfection’s philosophy

But glad and grateful for not being draped in hypocrisy

Yes! I do have a few lapses and shortcomings

But loyalty and honesty are my life’s earnings

Yes! I am nowhere close to your definition of a “belle-ideal”

But even the moon wanes and eclipses for real

Yes! I hate being compared and contrasted to

But I am unique not born to please and woo

Yes! I meet none of your hopes and expectations

But why kill today in tomorrow’s anticipation

Yes! It pains when my efforts go unrecognized

But I’ve evolved stronger thanks to all the disregard

Yes! I have whined and wept let down by my own

But such is life’s journey unaccompanied and alone

Yes! I may not see what you want me to see

Come and caress my naked soul to know the real me

Yes! I am an individual unapologetic and free

I am not who you want me to be – I am ME!

By Harsha Dedhia