The street light keeps blinking
\non the verge of its end
\nThe apartment is still further away
\nand the lights are getting dimmer<\/p>\n
“I need to leave soon” I told boss
\n“You aren’t leaving until I say so”, boss replied
\nWhat was supposed to be a journey before nightfall
\nbecame one during the darkness<\/p>\n
Multiple complaints to the corporator
\nNothing yielded any results
\nOnly the phone’s flashlight is the source
\nfor safety, or sanity<\/p>\n
Darkness craves company, it seems
\nIn the shadows lurked, from dogs to robbers
\n“I have to leave, my neighborhood isn’t really safe” I pleaded
\n“Defend yourself, you’re a man” my boss replied<\/p>\n
I looked around, in the darkness
\nmy earphones tucked in my pocket
\nmoney distributed across all pockets
\nand my laptop bag clutched safely in my hands<\/p>\n
I held the phone tightly in one hand
\nFlashlight on and the other hand clutching the bag
\nAnother 10 minutes of this adventure
\nI’ll be home, safe and sound<\/p>\n
I started praying to an invisible God I sensed someone move beside me I stepped on a twig and it broke under my weight As long as I am not moving, I won’t be attacked After eternity, and a few more reflection startles Tomorrow’s another day –Surya T<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The street light keeps blinking on the verge of its end The apartment is still further away and the lights are getting dimmer “I need to leave soon” I told boss “You aren’t leaving until I say so”, boss replied What was supposed to be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3791,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3791"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101112,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100971\/revisions\/101112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nto let no visible attack come near me
\ncounting down the seconds to my place
\n10:00… 09:59… 09:59… 09:57<\/em><\/p>\n
\nI quickly shone the light to see what it was
\nIt was a steel plate, reflecting my phone’s light
\nI was startled by my own reflection<\/p>\n
\nThe snap was audibly loud
\nThis is the moment when something will attack me
\nI thought to myself and stood still in my tracks<\/p>\n
\nBut the longer I stand here, the more I’ll be attacked
\nI took a step, slowly, making sure there’s no twigs
\nAnother few minutes before I reach my apartment<\/p>\n
\nI reached my apartment safely
\nI breathed a heavy sigh
\nI’m safe, for today<\/p>\n
\nFor now, I need some rest – both mind and body
\nI need to leave before it’s dark here
\nThe stress in this area is not easily managed<\/p>\n