Act of People Pleasing- VYSHNAVI MOHAN

Never has she been truly happy,

May be because she has been fed,

A poison of high expectation,

In all she did, her true self hid.

They never saw her good, it seemed,

Expecting more, as if in a dream,

Money, fame, a relentless stream,

Her happiness, a fleeting gleam.

That was her waning from a

Full-fledged free and joyful girl,

To a pathetic people pleaser,

Where she began faking herself.

Never could she be her real self

In front of even her close ones

As she was afraid of losing'em

What if she couldn't please'em

As time went on, she grew weary

Of every phoney acts, she'd do

Standing before her toxic kith

Putting on those sheepish grins

Afraid of conflicts and alienation,

Bound by others in a constricted bond,

Afraid of disappointing and rejection

Neglecting self-care, a harmful direction.

Finally, exhausted, she said NO

Couldn't be someone else anymore

As she was entirely done with it

"No more people pleasing", she'd bestow.

Picking up the bits of herself

One by one, like a jigsaw puzzle

Putting herself back, she had won

Just to make things fall in place

With grace and might, she said her part

Her worth affirmed, a brand new start

Breaking free from the people-pleasing art

Embracing her truth, an opus of heart.