Sybil

“You take too much”,
He whispered in my ear,
Pinking my cheeks
With his abstinence.
Not, I cannot give,
But, you take too much,
My generosity flung
Back into my face.

I took, but I also gave,
Not stopping to wonder
Why you asked for so little.

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Vidya Hariharan is a manic reader, traveller and teacher. In her spare time, she wrestles with crossword puzzles. Some of her prose narratives and poems can be found on Setu, Poetry Superhighway, The Woodside Review, Glomag, Café Dissensus, Borderless, The Bamboo Hut and The Wise Owl. She also won the Editor’s Choice Award for her haiku from “Under the Basho” in 2024.