Tuesday, December 17, 2024

MIDDLE-CLASS FEARS by Snigdha Agrawal

 

Anastasia Shuraeva



MIDDLE-CLASS FEARS

 

The rich don’t care

The poor have nothing left to bear 

It’s the educated middle class  

Who mostly live in dread

Not of the fear of death  

Nor the fear of heights 

But the fear of being shamed  

For their failures or plights  

 

They climb the ladder 

Chase the prize  

Yet in their hearts, a terror lies  

Of being judged 

Of whispers overheard 

A fleeting glance  

A passing word  

That can drown  

The joys of being 

Recognized  

 

They fear not death  

But social death  

Of not measuring up  

To the image 

They’ve created

So, they always live  

In a fragile state 

Unplugged, disconnected  


© Snigdha Agrawal


Snigdha Agrawal

Snigdha Agrawal (née Banerjee) holds an MBA in Marketing and has over two decades of corporate experience. She enjoys writing in all genres, including poetry, prose, short stories, and travel diaries.  Educated in Loreto Institutions, run by the Irish Nuns, and brought up in a cosmopolitan environment, she has learned the best of the East and West. She is a published author of four books.  Her works have appeared in several anthologies and e-journals, published in India and overseas. She has recently been nominated for the 2024 Pushcart Prize in poetry.


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