It slipped into conversation unexpected

It slipped into conversation, unexpected,

a name from the past, tethered tightly,

my middle name, like a heavy chain,

a ghost of my childhood whispering through.

“Light” they said, a choice made,

but I never felt the brightness,

it sat there, an heirloom weight,

under layers of family chatter,

a name unspoken in crowded rooms,

a burden, like dust on the pages,

of the worn-out album we keep.