Rhea Gupte

We breed mediocrity.

Celebrations, aplomb, pedestals,
All exist to tell you where to go.
Just how far you may go.
They blind your vision
To what could be beyond.
Curtains to veiled ambitions
Limited aspirations.
“Dream, but only this much.”
Beyond this is unfathomable
Beyond this cannot be dreamt
It doesn’t exist, it mustn’t.

We breed mediocrity
In a pool of small fish.
You are the biggest, the strongest, the fastest,
You stay in this water, thrive here,
Till your fins come apart and your mouth dries up
You have nobody to look up to, no goals, no mentors,
no challenges.
The best at your job.
You are thriving.

We breed mediocrity
Through thoughts unsaid and encouragement stolen
Through premature claps to what’s supposedly golden
Through doubt and numbness and restricted paths
Through suffocating words for fiery hearts.

We breed mediocrity.

PUBLISHED IN

SOFT WINTHIN ZINE by Soft Within Gallery, Berlin