I see a wall

I see a wall,
And I wonder what it does?
All it can do, I think is protect and defend,
To safeguard the people inside it.

But then I ponder,
Who is inside the wall?
And who is outside of it?
And whom does the wall protect?
For it’s all about the perspective, from the side seen.

But the wall still protects,
So whom to ask than the wall itself?
So I asked the wall,
“Wall, do you know whom you protect?”
And the wall replied,
“Protect!? All I thought was that I was dividing”

A couple of days back I had a dream. I was walking towards a huge wall. The wall was so tall, my neck hurt trying to see the pinnacle. But I was confused, I had come to attend the University, the address was right and all I could see was a huge wall. There were some windows on top of the wall.

As I stood thinking there, I saw a couple of other students with a ladder. They put up the ladder, started climbing it. I was startled. I asked, “But I’m here for the University”. “So are we”, they replied. “It’s beyond the wall, the only way is through the window. Hop in after me”, the person said.

As I was still trying to assimilate what is happening, there was a man, in his later fifties, with a neat suit, approaching me. He asked me what I was doing. “I am about to enter the University and I am pretty excited.” “Okay, but why the ladder?”. “I was told the windows high up the wall are the only entry to the University.” “No, that is wrong, you need to go back”. I tried to calm down and told him, “See you do not understand, there was supposed to be a university here, it is apparently beyond the wall. I need to reach it and attend my classes. Today is my first day.” He answered, “I understand that but I’m sorry, you cannot enter the wall through the windows”. By this time I was sweating, I did not know what to do, the students who were talking to me reached the other side through the window. “Is there any way to go beyond the wall?” I asked. “The wall is not a door, it is a barricade” he said.

I could not argue, I was upset, I just couldn’t hold back my tears, I cried and cried that all my hardwork and the dreams of studying were shattered. As I turned back, I could feel the chilly wind. I wiped my tears and started walking along the path I took to reach this place.

And then I suddenly woke up to the reality. It was not so harsh (the reality I mean). But there was still a wall. A wall between me and the neighbors, between me and my classmates who do not look or sound like me, a wall between me and the cashier at the grocery store, and many other walls. There might not be a physical wall, nevertheless, a wall there is!