Why Oh Why Are We So Shy?
‘Tis something that I’ve had since I was ten
And I remember how it was back then
A dark secret we couldn’t share with a boy
Why oh why were we so shy?
They all wanted to know what this secret was
Why the teachers only called out some of us
And shut the doors on curious little minds
Why oh why were we so shy?
Things didn’t change much as we grew older
No girl told the boy/s what the teacher told her
Behind those closed doors of class nine
Why oh why were we so shy?
And yet, now that we think about it
We want a partner who understands all of it
Why every month we lay down and cry
About that, we are not shy.
We are not shy to yell about our cramps
To throw things and break those lamps
About cravings for chocolate and anything fried
But to talk about the whys, we are still shy.
It’s time to stop speaking in hushed tones, and say it out loud.
PERIOD. Say it out loud,
and…and talk to the crowds.
Talk about the whats, hows and whys
It’s high time we stopped being so shy!
Poet – Chandani Kukreja
Chandni Kukreja is a copywriter with an advertising agency in Bangalore. When she isn’t working, reading or generally being geeky, she enjoys daydreaming and dabbling in nail art.
Edited by – Divya Rosaline
Illustration by Aditi Gupta.
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