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This poem came from the thought that the devil we blame may never have been outside us. Through the image of a door and a mirror, I explore how our own choices slowly reveal truths we often try not to see. In the end, the poem leaves a quiet question behi

The Devil Within

The devil knocked upon my door
and whispered softly in my ear.
I tried to close my ears to it,
yet still I fell beneath its pull.

I kept on running,
telling myself I had never opened the door.
But then I realized—
it was I who turned the handle.

And then I understood
the devil I feared
was none other than myself.

Had I never opened that door,
would life have been different?

I should have known this would happen.
If only I had understood sooner.

The sound was never from outside—
it was my own voice all along.

I looked into the mirror.
A smile rested on my face,
yet tears quietly fell.

I called myself the devil,
yet wondered why I was the one in pain.
Wasn't the devil meant to hurt others?
Then why was I the one who hurt?

I wished there was someone
who could see beyond my devil's mask.
And then I wondered—
if that someone had been me,

perhaps the mask
was never needed at all.

And in that mirror
I waited to see the devil again.

For a moment
there was only me.

Then the reflection smiled
before I did.

@Elakkiya Chandran M

Poetry by Elakkiya Chandran M
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