The Questions That Matter

By Sanika Bhatia

Do I even matter?

Or am I just another fleeting breath,

a whisper in the storm,

a candle burning for no one to see?

We wait—always waiting.

For pain to strike,

for time to run out,

for the weight of mortality

to finally shake us awake.

But why?

Since birth, we were given answers

before we even knew the right questions.

Taught to chase, to run, to conquer—

but never to pause, never to ask.

Not what do you want to be—

but who?

Strip away the titles, the money, the expectations.

What remains?

Would you still recognize yourself?

You say you want to be rich—

but why?

Security? Power? Love?

Or just an escape

from the emptiness you never dared to name?

We live like it’s a race,

breathless, relentless,

crossing finish lines we never even chose.

But in the end—

what truly matters?

Maybe the answers were never lost.

Maybe we were just never told

which questions to ask.

By Sanika Bhatia