The umbrella

When the rain is pouring,

the umbrella becomes our best friend.

It shields us from the rain, without caring that it itself

is getting drenched.

Creates a safe haven for us,

without caring about itself.

It doesn’t care if it gets dirty and wet,

trying to protect us.

It doesn’t care if it has to endure the pain, trying to safeguard us from the harsh and unforgiving hail.

But when the clouds dissipate

and the sun peeps through

The same umbrella becomes a

burden for us to carry.

For us it becomes all useless and we just want to get its weight off of us.

Carrying it around gets annoying.

We just want to shove it back

into the umbrella stand.

We don’t spare it a glance

until next time

when the rain is pouring.

I’m not talking about umbrellas.

Anaya Kanwar, Class X, Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Sidhpur