The Girl They Never Knew

By Bhaavya Bangotra

I was a girl made of stranger dreams,
Painted in shades of enigmatic themes.
They whispered words like cutting winds,
Tainting my name with silent sins.

I wore their judgments like a heavy cloak,
Woven from lies—each thread they spoke.
I searched the world for a softer view,
Hoping they'd see the girl they never knew.

I tried to shape myself in their mold,
To fit their expectations, to be bold.
But every smile they gave was a cracked disguise—
Their eyes never saw the truth behind my lies.

I shouted with my soul, but no one heard,
My voice, a song without a single word.
I changed my clothes, I changed my hair,
Thinking somehow, this would make them care.

But in the mirror, I found only me—
A girl too lost in what they’d shaped me to be.
And somewhere in the passive night,
I understood: my change must start with light.

It wasn't their gaze that held the answer,
My self-doubts and loathing were the enhancer.
I was the one who needed to unlearn
The rumors I'd believed, the validation I’d yearn.

So I let go of the world I once tried to please,
And stood alone—free, at ease.
No longer a puppet of their cunning hand,
But a girl reclaiming her own stand.

And now I see, as I stare at the glass—
The world may never change, but I will surpass
The need for their approval, the fear of their gaze—
For in my own heart, I've found a different phase.