By Lipoksangla Jamir
Candy melting through my fingers,
Crystallize like blood.
The stench of it on my flesh it lingers,
My mind's entrails does it flood.
No choice was I given,
But made to accept.
A candy so bitter,
Its rot reaches my head.
The taste buds on my tongue,
Some comfort do they seek.
For even the tears my eyes have wrung,
Taste sweeter on my cheek.
I watch as the Candyman passes out,
His poison with open arms.
People lining up with gleeful cheers,
Unaware they've fallen into his charms.
Oblivious smiles crowd me,
Rejecting their sense of taste.
They give to me their guarantee,
While they fill their mouths with waste.
'It's a scam! A monopoly of minds!
You're not trying at all, it's flavour!' I cry.
But when all you have is one,
The belief becomes hard to defy.
Reality becomes hard to swallow,
As I watch and wonder why.
People would rather follow,
Than see with open eyes.
Addicted to a short-lived indulgence,
The truth they claim to know.
But they don't know that this fever dream,
Is only lip service for show.
Soon, this lie they believe,
Will end faster than they expect.
Like how fast candy leaves,
Your mouth without a speck.
But I, too, am unfortunate,
And as they, trapped am I.
With a single candy in my hand,
And no other flavours to try.
My heart burns and my mind shudders,
I'm left with no alibi.
This reality wrapped in iridescent covers,
Truly a perfectly coated lie.
So I taste the bitterness once more,
To comfort myself as I see,
My future melt into incomprehensible flavours,
With no regard for my being.