Introduction Poem by Juvela Obi

Hello. My name is Juvela Obi.
You don’t know I exist.
I know of you, but I don’t
Know who you really are.

I’ve been hiding from you
For as long as I know,
Afraid to let you see
Who I am inside.

I once accused you
Because you never noticed
When something was going on;
When I was hiding or running.

But I know it’s not your fault.
I didn’t let you see me,
Hiding in the shadows
Behind the blank face of someone else.

She spoke in words
You would misinterpret.
She was a wall so you couldn’t see
Who I was becoming.

I feared you and hid.
I never sought your help
Because I thought I knew you.
But I only knew of you.

I was too afraid to know
Who you really were;
Too afraid that if I gave you a name,
You would then learn mine.

True names are far more
Than just letters to identify.
My name speaks of who I am,
But I wouldn’t show you that.

I never let you see the pain
That hardened and crystallized my heart.
I never let you hear the cries
That hid the diamond in the sand.

My mask was my friend,
Showing you dull river stones
And telling you they were she.
Her heart was smooth and grey;
That was all we let you see.

And the same fear that told her
Not to tell you who I am
Told me I didn’t want to know
Who you really were.

I looked through wooden eyes
To see the mask I gave you.
I listened through cotton ears
And misinterpreted what you said.

For eighteen years, we’ve lived together;
Neither knowing who the other was.
Now the masks are falling apart,
And it is time for a new beginning.
Is it too late for an introduction?

Hello. My name is Juvela Obi.
What is your name?
Who are you?