Thursday, April 9, 2015

The Self Is Several


The self is several.  It’s like a zoo
   Where all the me’s I am are caged and fed
And angry—since, no matter what they do,
   I only free the ones who are well-bred
Or well-behaved.  There is a different me
   For everything I feel, pretend to feel,
Or cannot feel—and still there’ll only be
   One of me that the outside world calls real.
I am a traffic jam that just one car
   Will get through—a packed mob behind a door
That only lets one person out—the star
   That all the extras and the crew work for—
      A single tongue behind a wall of teeth
      That speaks over the unvoiced underneath.

 

Copyright 2015 Matthew J Wells

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