Before the Mask Comes Off--By Shloka Shankar--India

Before the Mask Comes Off

I want to be pretentious about
being a poet and an artist.

Remember the plots of novels
I’ve supposedly read.

Watch TV shows with someone
who gets the joke without explanation.

Be a literary snob.
Learn to critique.

Maybe wax eloquent by drawing
parallels and allusions,

or dropping a theory or two
into the mix

and feel satisfied about never
fully comprehending anything.

Shloka Shankar is a freelance writer from Bangalore, India. She loves experimenting with all forms of the written word, and has found her niche in Japanese short-forms such as haiku, tanka, and haibun, as well as found/remixed poetry. She is also the founding editor of the literary & arts journal, Sonic Boom. You can read more of her work here.