INCOGNITO

Only my woolen garb,

No silk, no velvet anymore.

A banished princess.

No glitz, genuine to the core.

Dazzling diamonds

Forlorn.

Identity card torn.

The abyss of incognito,

A wise dish.

A clumsy descent,

A firm wish.

My bumpy skin,

Coarse as the desert sand.

A bold challenge to the milky trend.

Hardships, Destitution, swirling gloom,

The advent of the persona’s doom.

While the treacherous sun sleeps in clandestinity,

I cross the threshold of eternity.

The towering crowd denies my existence.

Yet, I am dead set

To claim subsistence.

Shah Jehan Begum Ashrafi was born in U.P., India, and grew up in Mauritius. She studied English and French literature at the University of Mauritius. After completing her postgraduate degree in education at the Mauritius Institute of Education, she taught English, French, and literature in various secondary schools. She wrote several plays for the National Drama Festival in Mauritius. Her first published work is a study guide to Arthur Miller’s play ‘All My Sons’. Writing poetry is her passion, and she is also working on a novel and some short stories. She was on the editing panel of Rajeshwari Chauhan’s novel ‘Daniel’s Diary’. Now the author lives in Canada and wishes to take up other jobs and widen her experience and knowledge. Shah Jehan Ashrafi completed her Master’s degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Montreal.