Vigilance and patience were about to be rewarded at that moment…
Shhhhh……… ‘Hold your breath,’ I told myself… ‘Stay silent……’
………….. Aaaand…….………………. Snap!
Hacked from its hideout, it plummeted like a feather towards the tap.
One in a million, yet it was a villain and not the hero,
How many ever times I conquered, it would regrow.
Shining defiantly against the dark carpet,
Its gleam attracted attention like a magnet.
‘A white hair!’ we screamed petrified like spotting a ghost,
Severe case of negligence was the obvious reason diagnosed.
I chopped it every time it appeared martyring precious few blacks,
Hovering around the mirror I stood like a killer ready to strike the axe.
I changed hairstyles eventually shifting my parting to off-center,
I tried colouring the lone silver into black, in vain, to counter.
Frustrated and exhausted I walked out of the petty battle,
My heart sank when I spotted later a few more whites in a huddle.
Covering them up desperately brought my confidence down,
Instead of pride, shame was how I wore my body’s crown…
Realising that even the silvers contributed to its scanty thickness,
I withdrew my racial attacks and accepted their spurts with calmness.
Embarrassment was swapped with participation in finding the silver treasure,
Joining in to spot a few more with any audience gave me relief and pleasure.
Camouflaging the issue or pretending its nonexistence was pure cowardice,
Facing it lifted off the pressure gifting me freedom without paying a price.
I’ve been taught a simple yet a profound lesson – ‘Face fear; it goes’,
It works, I pledge, ‘cause now I don’t mind as the fiftieth white grows.
Fears are usually self-built and self-fed overly handicapping me,
Shhhhh… ‘Ready?’ I crosscheck myself…. ‘One… Two… Three…’
……….. Aaaand………………. Baaaammmmm!
Punched in its face, I’m one up in the Fear-Slam.
