Layers And Layers Poem by RIC BASTASA

we meet i only have one layer
we talk and i added another layer
we discuss and i added more layers
we dive to a certain depth and of course
i have to add more and more layers
so i may not drown
so i may not be too vulnerable to pressure

and when we come out of the water
our faces surfacing you do not recognize me anymore
i have layers and layers of myself
that even me
i cannot anymore recognize

the violence within
this turbulence of the self
this storm inside us
this layers and layers of selves
covering the truth

how can i ever uncover
what my depths cover from time to time
when you utter my name?

when you tell me that
i am myself.

there is no self.
There is no us.

There is no future.
I have only the past
and My now

Like a fruit basket
all naked on top of your table.

Just take one
The apple perhaps.
And fill yourself.

For the moment.