Hide-n-Seek My Name

A free-verse poem exploring a fight for personal identity

I’ve been trying to reclaim a name I thought I owned like my body.

A pulsating organ, in a parched blue dressing, Beating at front door’s mainframe. A fist-sized ball of termites, thumb tucked under; Tiny mouths, breaking down — feeding and gnawing teeth into shredded gums, while anyone on the other side

scurries into silence.

And behind the painted wood, Plastic People Arrange themselves prone, pulling close paper blankets, and locking cardboard pre-folds.

I thought I had a name no person could take away, lest they stop my blood from flowing.

It’s as if they’re playing chess against an A.I. opponent, with average presets, and no assets.

And they won’t let me play, Unless I trade my name.

~Written by Chloe Paulina Hawes

Much thanks to Genius in a Bottle.