Sravani Singampalli’s most recent poem to appear here was “Evocation” (March 2018). 

Power of a ‘No’
By Sravani Singampalli

I know how powerful one feels
While saying a big ‘no’.
It is much easier to say no
But I know how difficult it is
To listen to an annoying no.

I listen to this hopeless word every day
When I ask my parents
To increase my pocket money.
When I ask for permission
To visit distant places
Along with my friends.
When I ask for an extra sandwich
And my mother simply says
No beta! You will put on weight
While my brother happily gorges on them.
Not only me but everybody
Has to face such situations.

Sometimes it might be more painful
Like being rejected
After a job interview
Or losing our first love
When parents don’t agree.
But this painful word
Once saved my life.
Even today I still imagine
How things would have been
If my parents allowed me
To visit that museum
Which is now just an empty place.
The place where many people
Lost their lives
And became ashes
In a big bomb blast.
That day I came to know
That a painful ‘no’
Can also save many lives.

                  * beta– Hindi word for child.