To Keep or to Free - By: Rishabh Gandhi

What stops the lie

from staining the record

If an unjust hand

holds the pen?

If the truth be a bird

And someone dares to forge

A cage

Pray ask, what then?

Will you take a chance

To steal the key

And let hidden truths

Go free

At a risk?

Or would you rather

Hide gold in your hay

And let the ignorant

Stay in their bliss?

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

This poem talks about the truth, and how it can be lost or rewritten or hidden. It asks the reader a question: when it comes to making a choice about sharing knowledge of the truth or just keeping it to themselves (gold in their hay), what choice would they make? By adding the line of gold in hay, it also alludes to the idea of wealth, and how knowledge, power, and wealth are all interconnected. Should it be shared or kept in one place?

Please explain your writing and thought process regarding this poem.

If knowledge is power, knowledge may also be like wealth. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to keeping the truth - sometimes, people are not willing to hear the truth - otherwise, why else would one forge a cage to trap it? Sometimes the truth can be too harsh, and people feel the need to rewrite whatever has happened - and those who tell a lie are wrong, because telling a lie is in and of itself a sin.

Why did you choose to write this poem?

I saw the site and thought for a bit. Then this idea hit me.

Do you have any tips or anything to share with the youth writers who may be reading this? (optional)

This is certainly a more literal poem with a surface-level meaning expressed through imagery and metaphors, but smaller connections to other ideas can be found in certain lines.