YOU WILL HAVE TO
“Elementary school and up, looking to open soon”
The news narration rung in Rohit’s ears
With a certain fear and maybe hope too
He quickly gazes at the chest under his bed
He remembered neatly arranging
The new notebooks and pens
Sleek folders and name tags
He remembered how his mom
Had ironed his clothes months ago
Waiting to hear back from school
Now that they have announced this
Rohit feels a weight on his chest
The weight that is crushing the butterflies in his stomach
The eager wait to go to school has ended
Hope is filling his body with chills
But the weight remains
The virus was still there
Still fooling our minds with hope
One week of no cases seemed so great
Only to then be followed by an outburst
He wanted to go
He knew that in his soul
He saw his mom trying to avoid his gaze
Since the news had come
While she had been waiting for school to open
“maybe that will cheer Rohit” she thought
Looking back into the duller months of life
She couldn’t not face him anymore
He was her child and she knew it was now he needed her most
She walked into his room with a similar
Small chest
He looked up quizzically at this chest
“more stationary? To a school I cant go back to?”
“you can” she said
“and this is how”
She laid the box and allowed him to wonder
Beneath the chest
Lay neatly arranged
Like his uniform and his stationary
It was even colour coded
Masks, sanitizers, shields and soap
“ go” she said
“one day you will have to”
The weight of fear
Somehow seemed lighter
Nandhitha Babuji is a 18-year-old aspiring poet from Tamil Nadu, passionate about using her words to show solidarity against children’s issues.
