I am whatever you say I am. From the outset of individuality, There was never any escape From the inverse cyclicality Modern economics dictate For the trade of personality Against futures of the heart And puppy love sentimentality. I am whatever you say I Am not the one left standing; There is a you-shaped leakage— Investment without understanding How markets dictate rules, Instructing my own self-branding, Turning reflection into loss, Art and pain notwithstanding. I am whatever you say I am doing it again, aren't I? Intellectualizing in metaphor, Masking emotions I can't dignify With words to obfuscate How I built myself to gratify The heat of your fingertips Brushing along my thigh. I am whatever you Say I am still on your mind. Say, "I should never have left," And keep our lives entwined Like our arms and legs, Every lazy Sunday enshrined By the air purifier and cat fur, Before who I am was redefined. I am whatever You say I am codependent. I would call that devotion. Everything you are is transcendent. I guess that doesn't bode well For my claim to be independent, But while the fire was burning, You allowed me as your attendant. I am Whatever you say I am is fine. I regret the doors you've closed, But your memory is a goldmine; I wonder if your lips are unique, If my hand will fit another waistline With a finger through a beltloop At the base of your spine. I Am whatever you say I am. I don't suppose I'll ever know How I fared on that exam. But to me? In my memory? I refuse to believe it was a scam. It meant so much to me, so I am whatever you say I am.