Recognize Me (Revised, 2009)

"Even if you don't recognize me
I'm still here," Jill Scott's siren-like
vocals float
through tiny earphones
shoved deep in my canals
so I can digest every word
and sound

Entranced
my legs halt
to let the music
burst out of my belly
showering passersby
with its colorful intensity

"Even if you don't recognize me
I'm still here," she repeats this
line over and over
I hit replay over and over
as if her words will conjure up
visibility

who does not recognize me?
where am I still?
plagued with this unknown
I cannot take off my earphones
in case the secret is a hidden track
like this song she sings as if
she read my mind
how is it she got to say it
before I had the time

"Even if you don't recognize me
I'm still here"
wailing these words until
my throat is hoarse
doubled-over
exhausted from yanking
out the earphones
stomping the music to bits
"Stop taunting me," I plea
but the past persists

I see who I am
really I do
I'm still here despite you
wanting to ignore
your love for me
retraction of your confession
erasing me

But I'm still here
yes, I'm still here
knowing our past will never disappear
nor the devastation to end its future
I cannot accept your forgetfulness
your farbicated ignorance

So even though you may no longer recognize me
today, tomorrow, forever
I now understand how this song captivated me