*Note:The format of this poem was inspired by Frank X. Walker's poem "After Dinner in Money, Mississippi" from his book Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers.Similar to his, my poem is essentially three seperate poems, the piece on the left with the first line "The reflection in the mirror looks back at me," the piece on the right with the first line reading, "The paradoxical personlity hidden," and the last piece of both left and right combined so that the first line reads, "The reflection in the mirror looks back at me the paradoxical personality hidden." I chose this format to physically capture the duality of who I am, just as Walker used the format to capture the duality of Southern society.

In order to get the full effect of the format, I have attatched a photo.

Modern Me
 

The reflection in the mirror looks back at me         The paradoxical personality hidden

                                                                             Behind a face

                                                                             Lost in the crowd

                                   With cold

                                                 Glass

                                                          Eyes.

                           I shiver to think of those eyes       The same

                                                          As mine.

                             But after a moment's pause

                                             I realize that my        Personality

                                                                             Defines me

                                                                             While my

                                                      Reflection

                                    Is just one of the many

                                                         Expertly

                                                               Cut

                                                           Facets.

                                                                             (Social) armor sheilds

                                      My jewlers, a culture

                                                Blinded by             Insecurities

Superficiality,

Violence,

Fear                                                                        And

                                                   Lacking in            What I am and have,

                                                        Empathy,

                                                       Humanity,

                                                        Harmony

                                                                               For it is not accepted by society.

                                                                               But that only encourages me

                                                                               To find myself in everyday

                                                                                                              Constrictions;

                                      And my luster shines

                                                     So long as         I feel who I am despite the facade.

My girdle facets fit

                       Into the smiles and manners

                                       Of civility,

                                                                              I discover my cheerful disposition,

My pavilion facets sit

                In the rusted band

                                 Of prejudice,

                                                                               I cultivate my passion for justice,

And my culet rests

            With the point

                      In the heart

          Of expectations.          

                                                                            I pursue my dedicated determination,

                                                                            Realizing my own hopes and desires.

I am a person shaped by the very boundries by which I am imprisoned.

I am the modern

ME.