Sreedhar Vinnakota

Suffocation

An embarrassed smile
under the spotlight, a whimper
in the cacaphony, a wave
of the hand to greet
the anonymous, an eye
on the clock, handshakes
to overcome moments, a hug
and a swivel to dispel distance
inching to get a foot
in the door to escape –
all mean the same thing:

please let me breathe.

Sreedhar Vinnakota is a theoretical physicist and a writer from Chennai, India.