How did I become
One of those women
prefacing stories with lines like
“back when I was with
my second husband”?
When did I get an office
with a door, with suits,
with a desk clock
that makes forest sounds?
How did I, a writer and artist
who wanted to teach phsyics,
end up working with lawyers?
How did I, the ugly girl
no one would talk to,
end up on the cover
of 2004’s Louisville Bride?
I’m still the shy girl
shuffling my feet behind the curtain.
I’m still the day-dreamer
playing super-hero in my head.
I’m still the little girl crying
alone on the playground
wondering why all the other kids
hate her and call her names.
Time plays odd tricks.
Life’s backdrop morphs and fluctuates.
Time paints my face with changing masks
that I never see, and no one else
will see past.
But underneath the masks,
I’ve become no one else… just me.