I had a voice, loud and strong
I had an opinion, proud and sound
Then, they started appearing
The trolls, with words so wrong
I gave it a fight until I could not
I didn’t have it in me – to commit
To belligerent, infinite explaining
To shove for a place in the medley
I muted myself, all thoughts shelved
I had nothing more to perceive
No more breaking news to see
It didn’t matter to me who prevailed
Or whose entire world derailed
For no one cared enough to listen
To what the sane had to convey
Suppress them not
Let them ebb and flow
Opinions, notions, emotions
Break the shackles
That bind you to silence
With anchored inhibitions;
In thoughts, voices, words
Our world is made, unmade
In never-ending cycles
A constant alchemy of change.
Last year, I blocked a few people on social media and exited WhatsApp groups due to differences in opinions. Well, not exactly that because different thoughts are enlightening, but due to trolling. Harsh words, bigotry, and bias were the hallmark of these discussions.
Needless to say, even these people must be relieved to have me exit from the group because now no one could challenge their point of view. We all love to believe we are right and our ideology is the best. Fair enough, but then why troll and abuse diverse ideologies. At that point in time, I wrote Trolled into Silence.
Over time, the situation has only worsened. Polarization, in almost all aspects of life, has manifested in crude ways. It is a global phenomenon. Innocent banter and sarcasm are also frowned upon because everyone is oversensitive. The cherry on the top is fear of the repercussions of speaking out.
Continue reading “Who will speak?”These words keep ringing in my mind. There is so much going around us but we are afraid to speak up.
Screaming into the void
Like lunatics caged, gagged
Muzzled emotions, numbed
Trolled for spoken words
Sounds buried in the head
Sane voices, now long dead
Victim to resounding fear!
How to silence the howls
Raging, trapped in the mind
Injustice bellows, how to find
Respite, refuge from wounds
Growing like sepsis, unheeded
Gasping for breathe, unheard
Mauled into total surrender.
Screaming into the void
Like lunatics caged, gagged
Muzzled emotions, numbed
Trolled for spoken words
Sounds buried in the head
Sane voices, now long dead
Victim to resounding fear!
How to silence the howls
Raging, trapped in the mind
Injustice bellows, how to find
Respite, refuge from wounds
Growing like sepsis, unheeded
Gasping for breathe, unheard
Mauled into total surrender.
Let me now observe
Ongoings of our world
Has it gone insane
Or sloshed with disdain?
How has it replaced
All the love with hate!
When friends are foes
For opinions they spoke
Do we bury the voices
Or risk being trolled?
When men are up in arms
Do we cower or take a chance,
To make amends, to call out
The lies and cover ups
The slyness and mess ups!
Blue Pen Strokes 