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- Sanjana Kumar
Secret Keepers
*The city kids gathered around the bonfire
taking their place in circles
around the old sweet grandma
who was as old as time itself could be,
their chirping turned into attentive silence
just as the old grandma whispered the story of secret keepers,*
Eons ago
There lived a lost soul,
A treasure of humanity
Who instead was perceived as a threat,
A beacon of truth and reality
Who was overwhelmed
by grief and society,
Answers only known to them
Healers, confused, threatened them,
They were troubled and pained
By not only healers
But by the demons of their own,
Demons often plagued their mind with sorrow
With lies filled with pain,
“You are not worthy of happiness
For you wished to harm your friend,”
The demons said,
“You do not belong to this world
Forever you will remain alien to those around,
Every action of yours will be questioned
For every being is superior to you,
You cannot speak, cannot breathe
For you are destined to suffer in this dark void,
You can pretend to lie, to be strong
But you know, you will never shine bright
You lack the ability to paint the perfect picture,
All you do is steal colours from others”,
Quiet, shy, unable to voice their own sufferings
Shriveled and hidden underneath covers,
A painful battle continues within her,
Yet she cannot choose whom to side with
*cautioned the old grandma*
Listen to their cries, loud and clear
These demons fill up the wounds of their own creation,
These are demons; not of hell but of us
These cannot be heard by anyone but us,
“Think, wonder, why is this happening to you?”, said their demons tauntingly
“You have finally been chosen
By bringers of chaos and suffering,”
*The wise old grandma warns,*
Don’t hide them, don’t let them grow
These demons are your Secret Keepers
Ruin them before they ruin you
​
Poet's INSIGHT
NOTE: The main character of this poem is referred to by they/them pronouns
This is the story of a young person who lived in ancient times. They struggled with various mental illnesses. In their time, there was no proper treatment for such problems, and their community only threatened them as they thought they were possessed by demons. Losing hope, they talked to the voices in their mind. They filled their mind with lies that they were forced to believe. Turning away from everyone, they took comfort in the familiarity of their demons. They were the only ones who knew their deepest secrets. Their words cast dark shadows over the little light left in them. The ending is for us to understand that no matter how powerful these demons may seem, we can always overcome them as long as we do not keep these Secret Keepers a secret.