Home by Narayani Goenka

One Poem Only · Aug 23, 2025 · 2m

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Narayani Goenka

I scratch the walls

till my nails break.. till the sound of the scratch sends an

unrelenting wave of anxiety through my body

till there is a forced call in me to stop.

I submerge my head in my bath tub full of water and count to 20,

then 50,

then as long as my limbs shake as if I'm caught in exorcism.

I gasp, not sure if another moment in it would mean if I have won

or lost.

Listen to me, I yell. My mind is trapped in a fog.

Maybe that is why when you look into my eyes, you can't see the

mess.

Even when I'm screaming loud enough to paralyse myself, you

don't hear me.

You…