My Name

I had a name
when my parents,
siblings, friends and relatives
all used to call me by that name,
an identity of my own,
but gone are those days…

Marriage was the turning point
that changed my life
leading me through the maze
of new relationships,
husband, dad, uncle, brother
and so on…

I don’t know
when I lost myself
and started learning to live
for others as per their convenience
making a lot of compromises
here and there…

I look at the names
in the contact list of my Mobile
and my eyes sparkle with joy,
when I find names
of some of my school friends
I’m still proud of,
carefree, but always supportive,
with whom I had spent
the best years of my life…

I call them
and I return to my original self
to relive those old moments
of vibrant adolescence
over and over again…

They never let me get old,
they call me by my name,
I get my name
and my identity back…

–Kaushal Kishore

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