An Introduction - My Story Part 2 - POEM

I’m not sure why it matters so much
Who I am is who I am
Who I’ve become is who I’ve become
Yet I’m bothered
Troubled even
By the name I’ve always known

When it’s time to introduce myself
The I am that I’ve known so long
Seems hard to share
Somehow diffused
No longer right
It feels so wrong

The name haunts me
And taunts me
Wherever I find myself
At the gallery
sharing the artist’s name
On the athletic field
filled with glory and fame
At the hospice
Who would have thought
I’d find the name right there?

And yet it’s not mine
This name I’ve known
For over three decades
No longer willing to embrace this clone
Which has no trace of my origin and place
For the Hyde which should be Hives now turned to Ives
Has stolen my pride