My name is me

They’ve trapped me with it

Everywhere I go

My pseudonym, my mask, my soul

They see my name and they build

They mold, they change, they mutate

I am surrounded

They have made my name into a creature that is not I

A monster’s name, an angel’s name, a hero’s name

Never a human’s name, never my name

As my name spreads, more and more change it

More and more make me what they want

What they need, what they desire, what they fear

I realize they are building someone I am not

Someone I can’t be, someone I shouldn’t be, someone I won’t be

I want to stop them

But my name is universally known

It flies across media, fame, voices

There is no safe place

No solace from these ‘me’s they have made

I’ll fall short of their expectations

They’ll blame me, they’ll shout, they’ll judge

They close in, brandishing my name

I’m not what they say

My name is no longer me