CHOKE POINT

Poem by Meera Krishnan

In the wildest of dreams,
I find myself in the middle of a flock,
Walking along a path,
Guided, instructed.

Why am I here?
I rebuked.
I hesitated.

A voice struck through my head:
“Listen to me, Or it’s your choice,”
Said the man ahead of us.

Toiled, hurt, and burned,
I followed the path,
Believing it was right.
Then, a great stone struck my head.
Oh—I woke from my sleep.

I thought,
It’s not your wildest dream.
It’s the reality you’re in.
And then, I understood.

Meera Krishnan is a contemporary Indian poet writing in Malayalam and English, whose work explores love, longing, identity, introspection, pain, relationships, and awakening. Her works include Echoes of Vivid Emotions, Everything About Him, Not a Fairy Tale, and the Malayalam collection വേദനയിൽ നിന്നും പ്രതീക്ഷയിലേക്കുള്ള യാത്ര (A Journey from Pain to Hope). She has also co-authored several poetry anthologies, contributing to collaborative literary collections. Her poetry is marked by emotional honesty, simplicity, symbolism, and introspection, often transforming personal experiences into reflections on broader human realities. Her recent work, including Choke Point, explores conformity, authority, individual choice, and the awakening that comes from questioning an imposed path. Across her writing, Meera traces a recurring journey from emotion to reflection, from pain to realization, and from uncertainty toward awareness.