THE ROAD IMPOSED by S Raja Mannar

The world judges a person
Based on his behaviour
Thus, etiquette matters much
Besides, there is also an untold rule
Imposed on a man
That is
It is better for a man
To be labelled unethical
But a person shouldn’t give way
To be labelled as a fool
For it will become a stigma
But it happens in this world
And sometimes it is not one’s personality
That makes one act foolish
For it may be because of mental illness
As it compromises one’s behaviour
But many sections of the population
Do not understand the complexities
As they judge one with wrath
Now in life
After the basic needs are met
There comes the emotional need
That is
A friend who understands
And a love who stands with one
However, there may be cases
Where one will be totally forsaken
And their hearts will be brutally torn
Besides
They will not be able to find even a tiniest of refuge
For wherever they go
They will be stigmatised as a fool
Thus, they have to walk on the road imposed
With pain and grief
As they cannot prove themselves to be otherwise
Now time may heal and will also present occasions
Where they can redefine themselves
However, they dwell for those who got away
Besides, the world works inflexibly
As it compressed
These people’s talent, character and happiness
Into a sack
And was labelled atop
That this person
Is “a fool, an idiot and a spat”
Thus, the psyche of people with mental disorders
Are like
They do not want diamonds, a Nobel Prize or the finest of wines
But they only want approval or understanding
From the society
And from those who abandoned them
That they were never fools