Poem 12
by
Ainsley Chernek

I have become you.

My body has morphed itself, miraculously,

To depict your features.

My face in the mirror, familiar.

 

I have spent years,

Gazing into this faces' eyes;

And even with all my knowledge 

I cannot solve their hue.

 

Now, these eyes are mine.

All the stress and anger reflected 

From the past owner,

Completely intact.

 

I do not know the origin,

Of any crease on this face.

Of any scar on this frame.

Of any emotion in this heart.

 

They were born

Of another time and place,

That I was never permitted to go.

Yet they arise in me, so brilliant...

 

A fear, of me,

Circles aimlessly above

This body it no longer inhabits.

Above a heart it cannot reach.

 

I hear it screaming at those around me.

And I recognize a thought, I don't want to believe.

I have become you.

A collection of memories taking form.

 

This sound stings my ears,

Despite years of exposure.

Yet it is not you who is yelling now.

It is me.

 

I am yelling at our world.

My reasons behind it,

Unknown.

For your anger, and stress were never explained to me.

 

A once quiet voice,

Shrieks and cracks in tone.

And this fear from me, that cannot reach me,

Reverberates to everything else in sight.

 

This body, tingles with remembrance.

Sickening how this machine knows more than me.

Am I not its master now?

Oh, but it cannot be erased of you.

 

These hand-me-down emotions,

Were born of your secrets, your hate.

They are remembered by me,

Who had nothing else to take.

Copyright 2012, Ainsley Chernek. All rights reserved.

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