I’m not as courageous as you
as I hide behind my impenetrable barricade of words,
the echoes of which only reach
the tip of my tongue, in an empty room
the tip of my pen, on a covert canvas
and the tip of my fingers, while clicking away locked in an encrypted digital world.
I’m not as courageous as you
to speak my truth, our truth, the truth.
I’m not as courageous as you
because when my allies bring up
forbidden topics —
masked leaders, tainted papers,
idols in half, mass hypnotism,
melting skins,
ecdysis,
clasped hands, choked vocables,
drawn swords, tattooed chronicles,
shades of orange,
impermeable walls proficient in ventriloquism,
screaming the truth of those
who were screaming our truth
and were silenced by the puppet masters
but not by history —
I ask them to hush
and hide the truth away
for a fly on a wall might hear us
and gravestones might bear our names.
I’m not as courageous as you,
for I’m afraid of the aftermath
unseen and the seen ad nauseam,
that if I speak the truth
I won’t remain.
But if I don’t,
I won’t remain.
Ujjaini Dutta is a writer, graphic designer and bookworm set out to start conversations through written words and visual storytelling. You can check out her debut novel, Manik-er Khata, here.
Featured image: Pixabay