Ugly Duckling

a poem by Chetan Bhatia

I am the absolue leader of soltitude,
my only goal is to sink deeper and deeper into a pool of sorrow,
to become the fungus of your toes,
to be mentioned only as a mere fragment
of my best friend’s imagination.

I am a human donkey.

I go to pray at a godless temple,
worshipping a cockroach which gnaws at my flesh.
I watch the saddest movies,
and laugh at the whole fiasco.
I feel the best when I feel the worst.
when I play cards,
I play without a full deck.
I will do a jigsaw puzzle,
but the blocks do not fit.
Try and pick up the shattered pieces of my meaningless life,
cut myself and bleed to death.

I am a human mule.

I am the black,
when everyone else is red,
the guy in his underwear,
when everyone else is in suits.
The ugly duckling that will grow up to become a swan.
Even so, I remain the needle in the haystack.

I am human porcupine.

I distance myself from everyone else,
if you need comfort,
I will give you pain.
if you need a hug,
I will stab you with a knife.

I am a human rodent.

What?
You feel sorry for me?
You would like to help?
Well, the only aid I seek
is volunteers to feed my worthless body
to the etarnal flame.