The Rebels in the Corner

Here’s a poem for
The rebels sitting in the
Corner of the back bench.
Silent. Mind occupied with
Thoughts. Extraordinary.
Observing the pace of the fan.
The number, colour and quality
Of benches. The people who
Could have sat in the same
Corner years ago. Were they
Exactly like her? Staring at
The windows, at the sky,
Searching for a possibility,
For a poem. Were the teachers
The same then, intentionally
Avoiding the questions of
The introverted, the marginalised,
The socially unacceptable,
Following autocratic, fascist ideologies
Imposing on them, punishing if not.
Searching for beauty.
Finding beauty,
Within, elsewhere.
Dreaming. Hallucinating.
Talking to them. Characters.
Developing phase by phase.
Words in the notebook, scribbling.
Free writing. Accounts on the black board.
Characters, searching for truth.
The song of birds and squirrels.
Accommodating. Balancing the motive of the Earth
And its people. Who, then, is more beautiful?
She can’t decide. No, she doesn’t mean the
Fascists, racists, the bullies who laugh at her
For being herself, for being silent, for not
Laughing along with them while they make
Jokes at people, for not finding pleasure in them,
For finding beauty in ordinary things,
For being a poet.
She meant the John Nashes, the Sussanas,
The owners of beautiful minds,
Struggling everyday,
Living everyday, coping,
Spreading love.
Or
The gushing wind plants a kiss on the forehead.
The fallen leaves kiss the barky fragrance of the mud.
The sky, filled with possibilities, unending.
The sun provides the way, the light.
The moon, the mother.
She is an embodiment of them all.
Not lonely, she is not.
Not alone in her suffering,
There are people like her
Finding consolation in themselves,
In the Nature,
Laughing with the wind,
Crying with the sparrows,
Building a world within themselves.
They aren’t loners.
They are a pack of lionesses
Facing the day
Facing the life,
Each day
Every day.

Nancy Joy is an avid reader and writer. She has promised herself that she will only read books written by women authors this year and is currently reading Simone De Beauvoir’s works. Her writing reflects the trauma experienced by the oppressed and the marginalised.

Featured image: Josh Nuttall / Unsplash