BETWEEN THE BATTLES, I RISE …..

BETWEEN THE BATTLES, I RISE …..

In my twenties, yet I feel twice my age,

Home is no haven, only a stage—

Where father’s voice thunders, sharp and cold,

And mother’s silence is weary, controlled.

He speaks of power, of being “the man,”

As if my dreams were never in plan.

My brother shrugs; he does not see.

The weight of this house falls only on me.

I mend the cracks they leave behind,

Carry burdens they never mind.

I blend with both, holding the line,

While hiding the scars that are only mine.

Some nights I break, yet rise at dawn,

Because giving up would mean I’m gone.

I walk through fire, yet I don’t flee,

The flames are forging the strength in me.

The world may throw storms, heavy and wild,

But I stand firm—unyielding, defiled.

For pain has taught me, clear and accurate,

There’s nothing ahead I cannot walk through.

So when I look at life, fierce and free,

I whisper with pride,

“ I rise , not broken but blazing “.

Yazhini AV, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

The Writers’ Association of Kristu Jayanti (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India — where language breathes, stories rise, and writers shape the soul of tomorrow