Quiet Spotlight

By Prisha Dhawan

The boxes stack , the wall go bare

A new address, a fresh despair, 

He learned too soon the ache of leaving 

Crying and grieving.

Believing his friendship would last, 

Each goodbye faster than the last.

The pain of parting grew too deep, too wide,

So from the schoolyard he begins to hide

Letting solitude become his day

To keep him at bay.

They say he’s distant ,maybe cold or proud,

But they don’t see the world behind the shroud.

They talk about him, not with care,

As if his feelings aren’t there.

He finds no comfort in being loud,

A book’s worn spine is his preferred crowd.

He doesn’t raise his hand to show his might,

He saves his knowledge for darker nights.

When a friend is called and starts to freeze

He whispers clues with gentle ease.

No flash of bright display,

Get good marks almost everyday.

The class may buzz but he is like a stone,

In his world perfectly alone.

They see the scores,

Praise the discipline and the steady core .

Never a flaw,

That fall below their law.

But they never see a human cry,

A silent pressure burning in his eye.

He longs to shatter the frame,

For one bold day, unbound, untamed.

But one slip, A to B

Would shatter all his plea.

They see a student fall from height,

None glimpse the struggles of his fight.

Yet one small comfort keeps him at bay,

A trusted friend who knows the private way.

By Prisha Dhawan