The Lingering Unease.

By Kathyashree Shanbhogue

It's a new day.

Doing something new.

Click.

Awkward.

Embarrassed.

Wanting the earth to open up,

Swallow us down

At that moment.

So afraid,

So self conscious,

These small incidents make us.

We stop doing the things,

We once loved.

Like climbing the tree,

Wanting a stuffed toy.

Just so that,

We don't get horrified

By our own actions.

The fear creeps in,

Until one day,

Everything we do

Feels humiliating.

So we just pause,

And live

Or, hope to live,

A more unabashedly fulfilling life.

And then there are some,

Who will do what they want,

But are shameless enough

To not care.

We all hate them for that 

Whether it's for their stupidity 

To be so careless,

Or for their bravery

To be so free 

No one knows.

By Kathyashree Shanbhogue