once-
i watched them;
gentle manners, their movements - fluid - flawless -
everything that humankind could become, i saw in their faces, their eyes…
I Wished to be like them.
i Wished to LOOK…
like them, petite and graceful and lithe…
i Wished to speak-
like them, words curling, flailing, shimmering off their
tongues,
Masterpieces.
i Wished to comfort them,
to step from the shadows, gently t r a c e-
e r a s e-
the faults and craters of sorrow from their faces, their perfect, human
visages,
i Wished to understand them:
to comprehend their story, whispers behind the melancholy, i-
Wished to meet them…
to watch as their faces lifted towards me,
alabaster blossoms to the crystalline moon, i
Wished that they would not shriek, cower,
In TERROR at my monstrous form, i WISHED!
that they would see-
a being-
Capable of
Thinking.
Speaking.
Understanding.
loving.
Like
Them.
i Wished to be them.
-and even now-
i am trapped…
for after the pain,
the rejection,
the flight and the loss-
the loss of life, the murder - the unlawful, the death of the innocent-
marring me for the monster they claim me to be-
I AM-
i
still
wish.
i -
WISH.