Found in a drawer my birth certificate lies

Found in a drawer, my birth certificate lies,

a name I never wore, full of quiet goodbyes.

The letters feel heavy, like chains at my feet,

whispering stories of a life bittersweet.

I read it aloud, the syllables weigh,

a ghost of a name that was lost in the fray.

What could have been written, what path left untrod,

if I’d taken that name, would I still be this flawed?

Each twist of my history like branches in storm,

a flicker of fate, reshaping the norm.

Yet here in this moment, I hold what remains,

both burden and blessing, in these curious names.