Photographs

Prompt: Relieved

i.

Maa
Holds her breath
For as long as she can.
Tries to vanish.
Finds relief
In the crook
Of Baba’s neck.

ii.

Tinni,
Four-year-old,
Hides under the table,
Refuses to look at the world,
But screams at the top of her lungs.
Thinks relief has a name.
“Maa.”

iii.

Subho
Claws at his own flesh
Tries to tear everything apart,
Including himself.
Turns off the lights,
Doesn’t move.
Finds relief
In giving up hope.

iv.

I
Grab a Polaroid camera
And try
To not run away.
Try,
To find relief
In people I love
Finding relief.

Poems that do not make sense, but do too.

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