Ear splitting

Tortured

Hunted and haunted

They are screams

They are screaming

My head is ringing

Despite the silence

My head is filled

With soulful cries

With unheard protests

And endless lies

These wails are prescient

These walls are ancient

And my head is resonating

Across time and tide

My eyes are glassy

Shut tight

And while I may be brazen

On the outside

Inside

My head is reflecting

The painful cries

Spilling unto deafened ears

Ears deafened by silent voices

Voices fatigued with endless wait

In a world where

Speech is an improvement upon silence

What prevails is speechlessness

– Akanksha Gupta (only poem)