POETRY | WORKPLACE HARASSMENT | MENTAL HEALTH
When I Believed I Was Wrong
Free Verse
Some years back, one Friday evening,
Mr. SN howled at me on a conference call.
I say, howled, because that’s what I felt.
By nature, I’m patient (in person) but not this.
You feel humiliated amidst others.
Nobody should be treating you like that, anyhow.
He was aggressive/competitive, he wanted victories.
Once he started howling,
you’d feel like you’ve been lowered down… to get buried
without your consent because you are dead anyway.
Others knew it was not my fault,
but none supported me on that call.
Why would they when I didn’t help myself? -
Once he stopped howling, I heeded his ongoing
yapping, like a ghost, instead of confronting him.
Once the call ended, I wept in my room for hours.
Fridays were busy in his workbook,
and he wanted it for us too.
So, my family assumed I was busy.
