Vitiligo Poems : Living with Vitiligo (Part 1)
Those living with Vitiligo knows that it’s a life-long companion. More or less, it is here to stay with you, till you breathe your last. No one is immune to the public stares, occasional discriminatory behaviors and weird questions. So, everyone walks the same path and sooner or later come to the terms with the reality and eventually, starts to ‘accept’ it as a part of their life. That’s when the magic happens. The day you start walking on the path of acceptance, you start rising about the ‘skin’ thing to focus on other important things in your life. Life is not all about vitiligo, it has got much more to offer you. But, the tremendous emotional trauma associated with vitiligo doesn’t let you see those opportunities till you start taking it as a ‘friend’ than an ‘enemy’. Being a visible skin condition, the psychological impact of vitiligo can be much more than the ‘physical’ one and acceptance is the first step towards emotional healing. More the acceptance, more comfortable you are in your skin and better the quality of life.
Gradually a stage comes when you have come at peace with yourself and wants to improve the life of fellow people with vitiligo by sharing your ‘treasures’ which you have kept in the dark palaces of your heart for years. You want to share all those moments of pain, frustration and silent struggles to let others know that they are not alone. Everyone here is in the same boat and as you have come so far, they can achieve this feat as well.
Living with Vitiligo has inspired Kinjal Sanghavi to write poems
Kinjal Sanghavi, living in Mumbai, India is dealing with vitiligo from her early teenage. Now, Vitiligo is her buddy for many years and she has penned many poems to touch the lives of those living with vitiligo. With these poems, she is trying to contribute her part towards social awareness and acceptance of this ‘innocent’ skin condition.
We are indebted to Kinjal for her compassion and courage and wish her all the happiness and joy in life.
She has written every single word straight from her heart and we bet you will feel her words like yours.
This is the first installment of her beautiful poems.
Read more: Vitiligo poems by Kinjal Sanghavi (Part 2)
Mesmerizing Vitiligo Poems by Kinjal Sanghavi
The Adulterated Society
The society we are living in
Is completely adulterated
While hugging a fake smile on the faces
And later bitching about them
The society is very biased
Towards people having Vitiligo
According to society, Vitiligo is
V: very common term
I: issued in public interest
T: to
I: insult
L: let down
I: isolate
G: every gender
O: from optimism
The foundation of inferiority complex is laid by society
And staring comes as a complimentary gift
Just a failure in pigmentation
Can’t stop us from achieving our goals
Positive attitude with self confidence
Is enough to tackle the society
It is not a contagious disease, nor does it harm us
So why all the fuss about
If Michael Jackson was not affected
So why should we be
Once shyness will always be shyness
Should not be that vulnerable
That gets bitten by dust
Physical beauty is temporary
While inner beauty lasts for lifetime
Never be ashamed of oneself
As up there is supreme power which selects best for us
Always believe in,
Whatever happens
Happens for the best
The Bitter Truth
Vitiligo is not a disease
But people treat it as more than a disease
The way melanin stops forming the skin color
The same is the way society stops mingling with them
The one who enjoyed life to the fullest
Starts cursing life after getting it
Everybody advises them with some or other remedy
Without knowing that there is no perfect remedy
The once close buddies before Vitiligo
Distances from them after discovering Vitiligo
The comments of people are like a bullet fired
Which without hurting, pains a lot
There is a shuffle of friends
As fake friends disappear and true friends stay
The sight of people changes
As they start zooming their eyes each and every time
Virus of partiality soon starts spreading
As from everywhere there is demotivation
Vision changes, Behavior changes, Outlook changes
Just a mere change in physical appearance
Brings a lot of transformation in their lives
Showstopper
Whenever we go to a wedding
Everyone enjoys a glimpse of us
Whenever we go to parties
Everyone enjoys a glimpse of us
Whenever we travel
Everyone enjoys a glimpse of us
Whenever we go for a stroll
Everyone enjoys a glimpse of us
Whenever we go for shopping
Everyone enjoys a glimpse of us
Don’t feel shy
Due to constant surveillance
Don’t feel complex
Due to constant surveillance
But,
Enjoy this attention
Enjoy this stardom
As a true showstopper
Suffocation
We love fashion
But due to circumstances
We sometimes amend our taste
We replace short sleeves with long ones
We replace stylish neck with standing collar
We replace shorts with jeans
Many of them mock our dressing sense or
Make fun of our taste
We too sometimes feel suffocated in this cage
But, if we make us free
Then there is our society waiting in queue
To stare at us
To demotivate us
And
To make us uncomfortable
So, for sake of our peace
And to retain our confidence
We adopt suffocation
As our dressing sense
Judgmental
I am witty
I am smart
I am funny
I am sarcastic
I am an artist
I am creative
I am beautiful
I am sexy
I am strong
I am kind
Unfortunately, you didn’t notice anything
Unfortunately, you didn’t experience anything
Coz you only focused on my patches
Appearance
Inner beauty
If any person
Differs in appearance from others
Does anyone take efforts
To know them
Does anyone take interest
To know their ambitions
Does anyone spare few minutes
To befriend them
Does anyone take initiative
To motivate them
Does anyone show solidarity
To hold their hand
Everyone loves to make fun of them
Everyone enjoys staring at them
Everyone takes pride in asking a questionnaire to them
Have you ever pondered
How much they go through everyday
How they battle this uneducated society
We preach about inner beauty
We like quotes on inner beauty
But, if it really existed
They hadn’t had to suffer torture
They hadn’t had to live in a nutshell
And
They hadn’t had to be a victim of sympathy
Pain
We get up in the morning
And prepare for the double challenge
One which god throws at us
And the other one by society
During commutation
Many stares at us
We don’t bother
In office
There are some who feel awkward with us
We don’t highlight it
In social functions
There are plenty who tries to sideline us
We still try to be calm
However,
We too get offended by this behavior
We too experience breakdown and cry our heart out
We too hide it from our parents and pretend to be strong
Everyone enjoys a glimpse of white patches
But no one notices the
Pain
That is felt
From the day it started
With every day when it expanded
Virus
The most dangerous virus
Which gives only stress
Which gives only sorrow
Is comparison
We compare our life with others
But we sideline the fact that
Everyone’s journey is different
Everyone is born with a different destiny
And
Everyone gets according to their deeds
Due to this constant comparison
We start developing an inferiority complex
About our life
About our achievement
And
About us
With comparison
Happiness becomes invisible
Success becomes tiny
And
Life becomes boring
Enjoy your own journey
Learn from your mistakes
Celebrate your success
But never ever get infected by the virus of
Comparison
Adjustment
Everything in your life will not happen
According to your wish
So, learn to adjust yourself with the circumstances
Everyone in your life will not behave
According to your expectations
So, learn to adjust yourself with double faced people
Every crisis in your life will not take place
According to your comforts
So, learn to adjust yourself with the sudden changes
If you learn the technique of adjustment
You can easily sail in every tide of your journey
Without anger, regrets and frustration
Appeal
We are tagged as Dalmatians
We are viewed as aliens
We are sidelined by society
But, everyone forgets
We are humans
We have feelings
We have ambitions
Don’t isolate yourself
But, face the world
Don’t curse god
But, accept your destiny
Don’t compare your life
But, live it with pride
Don’t get hurt by people’s vision
But, ignore them with confidence
Don’t stop dreaming
But, achieve it with courage
Live, Laugh, Love, Let go
That’s my appeal to one and all
Incorporate
We all have heard the phrase
Ignorance is bliss
But, never thought to incorporate it
In our lives
Let’s try to incorporate it
Ignore it
When your white patches expand
Ignore it
When people stare at you
Ignore it
When someone sidelines you
Ignore it
When someone makes fun of your white patches
Ignore it
When someone tries to demotivate you
Ignore it
All this ignorance
Will help you to retain your confidence
And will make your life
Blissful
I didn’t let
During school days, I was stared at by all
I thought it’s their innocence
So, I didn’t let my sparkle to fade
During college life, I was treated as alien
I thought its consequence of my appearance
So, I didn’t let my sparkle to fade
During job interviews, I was sidelined
I thought it’s their bad luck
So, I didn’t let my sparkle to fade
During my job, I was treated as odd man out
I thought it’s their illiteracy
So, I didn’t let my sparkle to fade
During social functions, I was harassed
I thought it’s their ritual
So, I didn’t let my sparkle to fade
During millions of times, I cursed my destiny
I thought to crib is just a waste of time
So, I didn’t let my sparkle to fade
During many nights, I was shattered
I thought it’s irrelevant to bother about the society
So, I didn’t let my sparkle to fade
During my journey
I learnt to only focus on my dreams
So, my sparkle never got fade
