Mask, My Love
written by: Hemu Aggarwal
@hemuaggarwal15
You cling to my face, hugging so dearly
you hide my smile from everyone
Cause you are jealous or possessive,
Like my first high-school sweetheart
You care for me as no one does
You suffocate me, but that’s for my own good
You deprive me of fresh air,
and force me to inhale what I exhale.
A year ago, you were nowhere to be found
Except on surgeon’s face or on thieves
But then you were born overnight
along with a few million siblings,
In rainbow colors, sizes, and shapes
spreading through the global sphere
you landed on men’s faces, and women’s,
young and old did not even spare kids
My heart breaks when I see one of your
siblings abandoned in a park, on a street
Don’t be sad, dear, they abandon their own kids too.
Protecting everyone with all your might
Against the vicious virus, declaring a fight
Now I could leave my house
Without my children or my husband
But not without you, my darling
We have become constant companions
Believe it or not, my life depends on you.
If I don’t have you with me, I can’t buy any food,
Can’t go to a restaurant, can’t go to work,
Can’t go to school, can’t go to a dentist,
can’t go to a barber, can’t go to a theater
can’t go to a baseball game, Can’t go to a bank
can’t, can’t, can’t, can’t, can’t go anywhere
Every day, I must plaster you on my face
before stepping outside, or before someone steps in.
How am I ever going to repay you?
For all the betterment you have done for me
Where will you go after the pandemic is over?
Where will your place be in history?
I am not sure; I don’t know, I can’t tell you.
But one thing I assure you, mask, my love,
You will have a permanent place in my eulogy.
- The Kitty - June 9, 2023
- My Inner Strength - December 7, 2022
- Mask, My Love - November 26, 2021
