Unravelling Herself - A Two-Part Poem

By K Lakshanya

1. ONE DAY, SHE’LL SPEAK…

She floats along like a little dandelion,

Tossed around by the winds of fear.

Gentle shoulders burdened by great expectations

Her footsteps waver, her path is unclear.

With dreams in her eyes and longings in her heart,

She also carries insecurities, failures and pain.

Yes. She is flawed. But she's a work of art -

Vulnerable, not weak; she's raw, not plain.

Big aspirations always come with high stakes

She has expectations to fulfill, standards to meet

The world lies in wait to judge her tiniest mistakes

She falls, fails; but she rises and tries - she's learning to face the heat.

On some days, she can afford to smile, some days make her cry

Ripped apart by fear and doubt, nights are troubled and long

Some days are so heavy, it takes all her effort to just try

But the hope she carries through it all - in the end, it'll make her strong.

Questions but no answers, destinations but no road

Sometimes she braves it all, with grace so demure

Sometimes she succumbs to the weight of the load

Borne by her despairing mind, her heart so pure.

Of letting people down, of being judged, she dreads

Cloaked by insecurities, little does she know

The path on which she now wearily treads

Will lead her to her niche, make her evolve, grow!

Life hasn't been kind, she's accustomed to pain

She sheds no tears anymore, nor does she cry and whine

Even in her darkest times, no more does she complain

'Cos if not the Sun, she knows, the soft moon will certainly shine...

Through good times and bad, she holds on with patient belief

She draws strength from her worst fears and hope from her hardest blows

One day she'll emerge, having turned over a new leaf

The world will be dazzled, when this diamond glows.

One day, she'll conquer that doubtful voice in her head

She'll crush her "What if.."s and uproot her fear

With courage in her eyes and confidence in her stead

One day, she'll speak and the world will hear.

One day she'll speak, and the world will hear.

1. LEARNING TO LIVE

The little dandelion is now learning to sometimes pause and rest

and simply let the wind take her along his course;

She is learning that obstacles are Life's ploy to test

Those for whom lie open the biggest doors.

She holds on to her dreams, patient and steadfast

She is learning to accept with grace, the failures, pain and tears

Working on her shortcomings, building a future brighter than her past

Slowly, steadily, she is outgrowing her fears.

She is learning to pursue her own path and not the road the world around her shows;

Learning not to see herself in the portrait that people around her draw

Falling, rising, growing - trudging along the path and the journey SHE chose,

She's embracing the vibrant hues hidden within - they'll soon leave the same people in awe.

From discomforting times, she's learning to accept all that life throws her way

She's learning that the darkest, longest of nights is inevitably followed by daybreak

She's learning to decipher the little lessons life sends disguised as a bad day

She draws strength from the people she cherishes, to work towards the difference she aspires to make.

She's learning that new destinations keep arising, a voyage has no finish line

Questions will continue to grow; often whose answers only Time can reveal

She's learning that when the voice within becomes noise, turning a deaf ear is perfectly fine

She's learning to value herself. Slowly, she's beginning to heal.

She's learning once again to feel - to smile, to scream, to weep;

She's learning when to let go, she's learning when to hold on tight

She's learning to comfort herself, to no longer cry herself to sleep.

She's learning that if only she searched, every tunnel would yield a beam of light.

She's learning that some scars may never heal, some wounds, with time, may hurt a little less

That sometimes, all her hope and strength can't help her break some walls

She's learning that not every chapter of the tale may bring the protagonist success. 

But the tougher the times he gets through, the louder the applause when the curtain falls.

She's learning, growing, inching closer to the person she sees herself be

No more does she wish to speak simply to make herself heard

She no longer looks for destinations, but for lessons along her journey 

Every day is hers to soar higher and chirp merrier - she is now a liberated bird.

Her flight speaks for itself, narrating her tale, word for word.

By K Lakshanya