“Imperfect,” by Akshaya Ajith
October 9, 2018
Imperfect
A dark purple bruise on perfect skin
Hidden, painful, an accident
But I know,
I am the eye opened, watchful, while the other is closed
I see it all
The perfect world that everyone sees now
Merely a curtain
To hide the ruined chaos behind
Hide the bruise
Don’t let them know
That you are
The weed amongst the flowers
Keep your disguise
Paint over
The vibrant blue splattered across the clean white wall
Someday,
You will be tattooed in the minds of the next generation
As you shine a light on
The darkest corners where the secrets are hidden
Akshaya Ajith wrote this poem while a student at Renaissance School of Art and Reasoning with WITS Writer-in-Residence Imani Sims. Akshaya opened for SAL’s sold-out event with Doris Kearns Goodwin on October 1, 2018.