Hasnain Ali Syed
Reputation
It’ll be nice to
Walk in a room
And not have
To fight with
An army of
Preconceived
Opinions
Not look at
An entire gallery
Of my distorted pictures
Painted by someone
Else’s paintbrush
Not be judged before
Even saying anything
It’ll be nice to
Someday outrun
That report on me
And
Enter the room first
Shutting the door close
From the inside
On the reputation
That otherwise always
Precedes me
—Submitted on 06/28/2020
Hasnain Ali Syed was born in Sialkot, Pakistan, and moved to Lahore to study medicine, graduating with a medical degree from Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan Medical College. He lives in Lahore with his family.
SUBMIT to What Rough Beast via our SUBMITTABLE site.
If you enjoyed today’s poem and you value What Rough Beast, consider making a donation to Indolent Books, a nonprofit poetry press.