I. Myself

We spend our whole lives—
Writing ourselves as chapters in other people’s lives.
We forget, when you are not the author
You may be an assisting role,
To be side-barred: discarded.
You overplay your part,
When the cameras go out
You are nothing but a jilted bride;
Left at the altar.
How frivolous.

 

II. Mother

Child, have you not yet learnt
Your existence is vanity,
Only as significant as a speck of dust—
To others.
Why do you let yourself go through all this anguish?
Aren’t you exhausted—
It’s time to take the costume off.
Tell the mirror what she wants to hear—
You are enough, child.

 

III. Ancestral Women

You search for love in spaces where lust occupies.
You are a passionate and pure soul,
Not yet tainted by the world.
You love and love and love,
Hoping love will love you.
How inconvenient.

 

IV. Their Taunting Voices

Child, why do you live in despair?
Doesn’t it bother you
That all you are is a donor,
Giving and giving—
Never receiving?
Child, have I not taught you well
That love is a Pandora’s box—
The more you keep searching
The more it evades you.
Child, be patient, for love eventually happens.

 

V. The Universe

You are a dreamer who still believes in constellations—
Even when the clouds cover the night.
Your naïve little soul
Gasps at the sight of the moon.
You stare too hard—
Daybreak drops in.
The sun burns your eyes.
How foolish.

 

VI. Sage Advice

Child, have you not been warned—
Gold need not glitter.
How dewy-eyed can you be?
The downfall of all comes from those who chase after the flashes.
Unless that is how you desire to perish.
Child, child, child—
Remember not to stray from your own path.

 

VII. The Child

You all speak—
Tenderly / cruel / accusing / affirming.
Do you wonder how this child of yours feels?
Put me on your bosom, mother—
Sometimes it gets heavy.
Let me not carry the weight of my ancestors.
The universe has cheated me.
I simply cannot fathom the betrayal.

Let me live.
Whether I fail or win,
Do not chastise me!
Reach out to me and say—
Child, do not fear.
We are here to guide you to your fate.