POETRY
i am…
…unknown
Published in
Mar 1, 2023
noon feels a little like midnight today.
night thoughts twist and twine through my ribcage
and i can’t understand their whispers. they grow
ever tighter and i accept this fate with a gratitude
only matched by the leaf to the tree.
i am unknown in a sea of name tags and hashtags
and clothing tags from brands i can’t pronounce. i am
quiet in a room full of screams, but not because
i’m not screaming, too.
i move to the side so others can
pass, cheer them on with the
chatter of so many seashells of listening ears.
i make myself small, unassuming, unquestioning,
so as to still the waves around everyone else.
what does it matter
if a tsunami bears down on me
so long as everyone else is dry?
Chelsea Brown, 2023
