Conflict

This man is not me: someone dark
Has taken over me:
He pulls me towards pettiness
And hollow acts of shame.
I resist much, but he is strong,
And I’m just a boy in a man’s shoes.

He is deliberately mean.
I strike back with kindness.
He talks of drab despair;
But I retain vibrant dreams.
Like a chess grandmaster
I attack with my random goodness.

But only one of us
Will stand in the end.
If you see me and I don’t smile
Somehow you know the worst.

And if I embrace you
With unfeigned eagerness,
Know that I’ve seen the dark side
But returned back, only for you.

Diptesh Ghosh