Innerworld

By Sutputra Radheye

There is someone. I am
scared of the shadow that forms
in the mirror when I stand in front 
of it. The horns on my head 
freak me out. This can’t be true.
No. Hell no. All of it is an illusion.
It laughs at me. The eyes are red
and they stare through me. A rugged
hand climbs to my throat like a vine.
It strangles me. Save me from this python.
Save me from this devil that lives in me.
It whispers -- urging me to commit sins
and fall. It calls me its fallen angel. 
I don’t want to be. It doesn’t let me sleep.
It keeps talking in my ear to get up
and hone myself. The war against God
is coming. It’s coming sooner than
you think. I stare at the mirror again.
I see the same shadow that looks 
just like me but isn’t me.

Sutputra Radheye is a young poet from India. He has published two poetry collections — Worshipping Bodies(Notion Press) and Inqalaab on the Walls (Delhi Poetry Slam). His works are reflective of the society he lives in and tries to capture the marginalised side of the story.

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