of a resemblance

dehumanization begins with the evanescence of your father.ㅤit burrows into your callow consciousness, latching onto the echoes of his name, softly spoken by mouths that never knew him whole.ㅤthey say your pretty eyes resemble his—as if inheritance were a benediction, as if his gaze had ever lingered on you longer than a diurnal shadow. ㅤhe gets into your mind, your anger, your voice, he seems close but he is either long gone or lost in the stupor of a bottle before dawn. ㅤbut you are only a child, clutching the scent of smoke and the dizziness it takes to, believing, somehow, it pulls you closer to him. but the closeness breeds likeness.

the cadence of your voice, the weight of your wine-drowned body, the way your rage settles into your bones like an old tenant—even the way you light your cigarette.

all of it, him. ㅤㅤyou wear the resemblance unknowingly, a specter draped over your shoulders.

if he looked at you

through those same eyes he left you with

would he recognize himself staring back?

even if he did—

through those same eyes he left you with,

you'd remain unseen.