Am I Anyone But Myself
Who am I
If not Myself?
Am I more than my namesake?
More than my cotton-candy-curls,
More than my clever way with words?
Am I more than my mother saw in me
When she felt the first thump of my heartbeat
as the fabric of the world
shifted to make room for me -
Courageous, ambitious, curiously starved for knowledge of all things.
Am I myself without this title, without this definition of my traits?
Am I myself if I lack bravery, if I lack wit?
Am I myself if I fall short?
Am I myself even when my bones are ground
Beneath sedimentary layer after layer?
Am I myself even when my name disappears
From the poorly inscribed pages of my books,
Even in the absence of a mouth to profess all that I am
In 3 syllables or less?
I am the personification of careful articulation,
The hallmark of humanity's desperate attempt at creation,
A placeholder for all I can and will be.
Yet still, I wonder
Who am I when I'm not me?
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