dissident

i am not a traitor.

but i feel.

Like.

One.

I have not committed

treason.

and yet i hear.

Like

One.

the silent accusations.

like snakes in my ears—

dis-

loyal

dupli-

ci-

tous.

perfidi-

ous.

i have not engaged in

treason.

yet i feel.

as though i am

choking and swinging.

Like

One.

who has become

an infidel.

but i am not.

One.

yet i am permitted the choice of only

One.

despite the inescapable mathematics of

displacement:

in which,

1 = 2.

the solutions to

family and humanity

require a flexible arithmetic.

that calculates for the presence and absence

of variable absolutes =

cliché,

you mutter.

so, i mutter back—i

will cease utilizing cliché

when

i am no longer considered a

cliché—

when

1 and 2

no longer equate

to being at odds

with the variable absolutes

of

family and humanity—

when I can look into

the crowds.

and see more

than.

an Ungrateful

Selfish

Dissenting

little.

Traitor.