Don’t lose yourself in pretty words
Their artful eloquence
Beware the silences between
Hiss with malevolence

Too long don’t stare into the woods
Keep count of every branch
Wayward traveller, wary be
Of stumbling in a trance

In vain pursuit of netted sun
On blue-green waters, hark!
Lest in you wade too deep, yet miss
Upon each wave a shark

And when embark upon next verse
Do turn each page with caution
Sharpened edges draw first blood
From beguiled opponents

So judge not by its cover a book
Read between the lines
Double entendres hide amidst
The seemingly benign

This world, from ‘far, is abstract art
Up close a labyrinth
The devil lies in its details
Trembling with innocence

– Akanksha Gupta