A Persona (C) Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Bubbled out of the office like the Phantom's
Christine, sang a request to be remembered
Think of me… waking silent and resigned…
walked through the exit gate: You were once
my one companion, you were all that mattered…
then into the dazzling sunlight, pink Fedora and
gangster sunglasses against the heat -

Took only 10 steps before turning back, at 31
degrees Celsius it's much too hot, struggled
upstairs like the Little Mermaid after the witch
took her voice in payment for painful legs, so
arrived out of breath & informed Hanlie of my
aborted trip outside - realising I was without
suitable identity making the announcement -

Instead of a dignified official, becoming my
station, I was more an overexcited toddler:
wish I could adopt a persona befitting my
age yet when I try it feels so fake…