Dedicated to my dear friends, Nidhi Dwivedi and Megha Sinha. Hope you live through roller coasters of your own.
Roller Coasters
Oh! I’m actually quite afraid of roller coasters you see
It just so happened that the first time I chanced upon one
I was with someone in a rather unpleasant mood
It was much of a coincidence you see
Me, taking a stroll to calm the nerves of someone I love
and chancing upon a roller coaster
Upon which I thought to myself
What better way to deal with a heartbreak,
than a bloodrush?
Quite mad if you think about it,
but I knew the trick would work
There was only one little problem
I’m actually quite afraid of roller coasters you see
But once we sat upon, I realized I was afraid and she
thrilled
Thought my nervousness could not afforded to be seen
So I looked straight and felt my breath
and to my utter astonishment, I was still breathing
Then another breath came, and another and then another
Breath after breath I went on,
I was still afraid, but I need not focus on that
All I had to do was keep on breathing
And I knew everything would come back alright
Since then I have come upon many a roller coasters
Ups and downs and twists and turns and upside down
All I have ever had to do, was continue breathing
In my experience, if you breathe for long enough
Problems usually replace themselves with newer ones
However, the best way to be rid of your problems
is actually to stop breathing once and for all
I haven’t tried that myself, yet
For now, I keep breathing
It’s not courage or wisdom but merely force of habit
For truly, I’m actually quite afraid of roller coasters you
see
Vishal Gupta
8 Jan 2018
