The Middle-Class Maze By Mohit Saini
I. Childhood
A boy is born to modest means,
where dreams are weighed in gold
not for him, but for the house,
where bills pile, stories untold.
His father sweats in sunlit streets,
a wallet thin as thread,
each rupee split for bread and books,
while dreams hang by a thread.
The boy, he learns to bite his tongue,
to bury wants too deep
"Can we afford this course?" he thinks,
while others soar, he creeps.
II. Lessons in lack
No talk of stocks, no wealth, no bonds,
just whispers 'cross the wall
"Auntie bought a fridge today!"
"How? Who will pay it all?"
They teach him gossip, not to grow,
to judge, but not invest.
He masters how to count their flaws,
but not his own interest.
The classroom hums with futures bright,
while he just counts the cost.
His grades dip low, his focus strays
a lifetime’s chance is lost.
III. Adulthood’s Trap
Then comes the wife, then comes the war,
the mother’s tear-stained cheek.
He stands there, torn and hollow-eyed,
too weak to speak or seek.
"Choose her or me!" the women scream,
his heart a fractured bone.
He pleads for peace but feeds the fight,
and weeps—yet stands alone.
Promotions pass, his peers ascend,
while he’s knee-deep in strife.
No raise, no risk, no rebel leap—
just middle-class for life.
IV. The Cycle’s Echo
The cycle spins, his son now stares
at fees he can’t afford.
The boy, like him, will shrink his dreams
to fit the family’s hoard.
Oh, middle-class! Your chains are soft
no tyrant’s whip, no decree.
Just love that clips the wings you grew,
and calls it "family."
Mr Mohit Saini is a poet, writer, and researcher, working as an Assistant Professor at Compucom Institute of Technology & Management, Jaipur. With 8 years of experience in the field of language and linguistics, he has contributed significantly to research and education in these areas. His academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Education, a Postgraduate degree in Business Administration, and a Master’s in English from the University of Rajasthan. His areas of expertise encompass literature, second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, English grammar, multilingual education, and the implementation of language policies in higher education. As a reviewer, he has evaluated several research papers. He is also the author of several published poems, showcasing his creative engagement
with language alongside his academic pursuits. He resides in the culturally rich city of Jaipur.
He currently serves as an Editor in the Journal of Advances in English, Telugu and Indian
Languages (AQIE Publication) and as a Journal Editor for the International Journal of
Language, Linguistics, Literature and Culture.
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