The Untold Self - By: Harpreet Bassan

The songs you sing at night

Your true self

Your form lost in the darkness

You just lay there all alone

Replying to your thoughts

Answering your own questions

Can’t find your hands

Can’t see the outline of them

Your mind dances in another dimension

To the songs only you know the lyrics to

The lyrics formed by one’s own stories

You know you can’t tell the world about

You know they wouldn’t understand

The lines you draw

The words you create

The songs you write

The songs that you would only sing at night

Please give a detailed explanation about the meaning and main idea of this poem.

This poem explores the question: Who are you when you are alone? When there is no one around to watch and see you. In public, we are actors; we try to be our best selves, but who are we in private? When there are no eyes around us, what are we?

Please explain your writing and thought process regarding this poem.

In my writing, there is no one direction. It depends on the reader's imagination and how they relate my poems or stories to their own experiences. I wrote this short poem to release my confusion about my emotions and to help me express better about sitting in the dark not knowing what to do next.

Why did you choose to write this poem?

I chose to write this poem to explore the hidden self in the darkness and to ask myself the questions I've listed above.

Do you have any tips or anything to share with the youth reading this?

If you want to be a writer, you need to explore life and observe the relationship of the world to one's self. You need to look within yourself first, just so you can create such an experience for your readers through your words and let them carry the emotions you are trying to deliver. Also, write as much as you can to perfect and find your style.