A boy who has lost interest, 

Who lies awake every night, 

Who keeps on saying, ‘What’s the point?’ 

And his life, he thinks is hopeless. 

A girl keeps on fixing things,  

‘No, this is not right,’ she thinks, 

She’s teased and called a neat freak, 

She tries to stop but she can’t. 

My friend is different, 

He cannot walk or talk, 

People make fun of him, 

I clench my fists tightly. 

Miss Nina has forgotten, 

Things which happened recently, 

But she recalls her school days, 

And tells me all the stories. 

Depression and 

OCD, 

Dementia, 

Autism. 

Whatever they may be, 

The people they affect, 

Need to be showered with love, 

And need to be understood.

They need to be shown that they’re, 

Cherished and precious as well, 

That they are one of a kind, 

That they can just be themselves.

// This poem has been penned by 10-year-old Sunandini Sen and was recited by her at the Children’s Poetry Open Mic on Mental Health organized by WICCI National Mental Health Council in association with Beyond the Box on 18th September 2021 //