Dr Anu Dalal
I'll wait for my day,
When I have a response to all the noise around,
I wish, just through silence and a smile, I could hush the chaos, even for a while.
The noise that questions all my worth, the noise that mocks, “What great have you brought to earth?”
Some sneer, “What’s in your CV to see?”
Some say, “You're just degrees to me.”
Some measure life by the money you earn.
While passions and purpose, they swiftly adjourn.
Some laugh, “What’s research? A waste of time - a copy-paste game, no reason, no rhyme.
They miss the trials, the stumbles, the mess.
The endless failures behind one success.
And when support from near ones disappears,
Tell me, where do you turn with your fears?
They mock my work, neglect my silent fights,
My countless hours, my sleepless nights.
They don’t see the rigor, the strain,
Building a dream with no guidance, just through struggle and pain.
I never knew the academic path I carved with care,
Would be judged by eyes that simply glare.
Transitions, I knew they'd be tough,
But how deeply they drain, how rough is rough.
It’s easy to speak, but hard to see through,
What it takes to start again, to renew.
Interestingly, the moment I pause, I’m deemed unsound.
As if I’ve vanished and no longer profound.
No one sees the life that has changed.
A marriage, a new home, a baby to chase, a whole world that has rearranged.
Sleepless days and newborn cries,
Still, I search for worthy work and try to rise.
Yet my efforts go unnoticed, unseen,
Only outcomes matter; it’s never the in-between.
I wonder: will my time arrive?
When can I smile again and feel alive?
To silence the noise, not with rage or plea,
But with the calm of finally being me.
So, I wait for my day, for my name.
For the moment, I no longer carry the blame.
And when it comes, I’ll quietly say:
This was the day.
The day, from noises, to silently walk away.