This writing collaboration with Chaotic Blonde has come about through a slightly different process than some of the others. As you’ll see from her poetry, she often references the music she is listening to at the end of her posts! Taking both of our musical influences into account, we decided that we would both right companion pieces using Radiohead’s – Fake Plastic Trees as a jumping off point. The order of the pieces are: mine, then Chaotic Blonde’s.
Square pegs worn down
cardboard cutouts painted up
I can be who you want me to be
Because it’s who I am
Give myself ’til there’s nothing left
Daily rehearsal makes it right
I am who the credits claim is me
Because it’s what you see
Fitting suffocating squeezed in
Wishing I could reach out
You can be who I need to be me
Because it’s who you are
Fake it ‘til we make it wrong
Wearing faces that fit right
We can be who the world sees us as
Because its who we are.
The final act never looking back
Never inward only forward
We’ve forgotten all of who we were
From this photocopy of our lives
sweet cellophane love
in all its holy saturation
I’ll be whoever you want me to be
because it’s all I am
sitting pretty in your credits
splayed across the title cards
like I’ve never seen a summer
with my own eyes
(and yeah, suppose I’ve been under
down, drowned
but I’m living in a frame
you need me to be)
deep breath, hard smile
accordion jaws
typed in small print
my face, your favourite face
how can I glance back?
our scene is set
the only time we have left
set up, aching
(can’t help ourselves)
we stare ahead.
Image by Monfocus from Pixabay