Eyes wide, unblinking
I
see
You
inside the cave: bats hanging upside down
a sporadic, random flickering of light—so brief
it must not seem like light
I
know it will pass
and
logically, I know, you know too
But
this cave,
it demolishes hope
sucks out the light like a dementor,
tortures with sharp bites of doubt and fear and unyielding insecurities
still
Eyes wide, unblinking
I see you—I see you
I see You!
Sonia Chintha is an Indian American writer who lives in the Washington DC area. She blogs, writes poetry, and fiction. She is also an English teacher who believes that our experiences teach us more than any test. She is the founder and co-editor of Good Little Girls.
Illustration by Deema Alawa Brown girl, fragile by Sonia Chintha I swim in the clear soup of your fragility A backstroke that inevitably feels like
I coast softly with the wind, towards shore. Sunlight holds me up; moonlight towing me in. A vast ocean of rights and wrongs behind me:
“What is your purpose?” She asked earnestly. I stared back blankly. What is my purpose? Like a confused sixteen year old, I slouched shaking my