The Conformist

She follows me through these halls
Shadow memories of what once was
Cold unfeeling remnants of days old
Covering my shoulder in the dark

My feet turn me around
To see nothing there
My heart echoed against the walls
Giving her a beat

Giving her a life
Her pale ghostly face stares back at me
Her eyes wild with terror
Her empty chest heaving with breath

The borrowed breath from me
Which echoes as I breathe
My heart giving her life
Her skin becomes clear

My soul sinks
As I realize I’m staring at me
Not as everyone sees
But what my soul is truly

The part of me hidden away
Hidden from view
For only me to see
This lonely part of me

That is bursting, bursting
To explode
With hope and life
Life that I keep from it

For fear of being conformist
To follow the ways of man
To become a drone
With no thought

No life
No hope
I stare at my reflection in the glass
One thought passing through my head

I will be me.

Poem by Samantha Ruelle

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