by Imogen Arate
With me you
have meaning
find purpose
A reflection of myself
an imprint
a ghost of the past
Your perpetual search
for mommy-
dearest Facts forsake
My forward motion
propelled by reenactment
of recurring cursed roles
you find reassurance
That devil you know
offers no surprises
I flee into the unknown
and you drag in fear
"Let’s go back”
You plead
“Let’s find comfort
in the familiar”
“Remember the good times”
“When I was the slave
and you the master”
Author's Note: I would like to acknowledge the influence Emma Rhodes’ “Johnny Depp Wins, and I Like So Many Others, Think of the Man Who Abused Me” had on my poem.
Imogen Arate is an award-winning Asian-American poet and writer and the Executive Producer and Host of Poets and Muses, a weekly poetry podcast that won second place at National Federation of Press Women's 2020 Communications Contest, where she has served as a national-level poetry judge in 2021 and 2022. She often reacts to news in verse, which you can read here, on The New Verse News, as well as in other publications. You can find her @PoetsandMuses and @ImogenArate on Twitter and Instagram.