By ADITI PANIGRAHI
DEPRESSION
There’s a boy who sits in the corner
His heart is crying out
There are people all around him
But no one seems to hear him shout
His life seems fogged and empty
What’s missing he doesn’t know
He wears a mask everyday
His true feelings he doesn’t show
What you may see is a big smile
A smile as warm as the summertime
But what he hides beneath the grin
Is no darker than a curtain of nighttime
His once cheerful life
Has turned so dull and grey
He once enjoyed his group of friends
Who he now pushes away
For when he is alone
He breaks free from his shell
To let the unhappiness break free
Unleashing the devil from hell
Day by day, week by week, a sad silence surpassed him
Sneaking through him gradually
But taking away fast
It’s been two weeks now, where is he?
There’s no more boy who sits in the corner
We didn’t help when his soul weeped
Only now it is that we realise
It’s too late, for he is in a permanent sleep.
ABOUT ADITI PANIGRAHI
I am a grade 10 student, currently studying in Harare International School. For the past year or so, IB MYP 10 students have been working on Personal Projects. For me personally, this was a great opportunity to pursue my passions. Naturally, I was drawn to dance. However, when brainstorming more ideas, I figured that because this is a long-term project, I should step out of my comfort zone and work with something fairly new to me. I needed to do something different that I would still enjoy. This thought is what reintroduced my acquaintanceship with photography, poetry, and curiosity for mental disabilities. My goal was to create an exhibition of portrait photographs with corresponding poetry for the 5 most prevalent mental illnesses in teenagers; depression, anxiety, eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and schizophrenia. Unfortunately, as a result of the Covid-19 outspread, the PP exhibition for this year was cancelled. Anyways, this is the poem I wrote in hope to express “depression” the best I could.
