PERSON
I am not a person
For a person is a person
Of complete and single character
Unique but comprehensible
Who sees the world and judges
With a clarity of principle
All clear of doubt and terror
Of a universe in peril
Since the worries of the person
Are connected and contained
With the sensible prevention
Of the things that cause it pain
And the person knows what persons do
And how to act its whole life through
And how to best participate
In wars and celebrations
In the mating dance and nations
And the plethora of other
Systematic person things
That together paint the picture
Of a planet full of persons
All in general agreement
As to how it all proceeds
Knowing every one its place
Knowing how to run the race
And exactly what it wants
As its personhood it flaunts
And I wish I was a person
With those perfect person things
I could make every decision
And I'd know my own position
And I'd love and hate and fight
The same as any person might
But I would never be alone
Since the persons would surround me
And would see me as their own
So I act just like a person
Doing personable things
Wearing faces like a person
Walking like a person might
Saying words that seem correct
Hoping I might be mistaken
For a person in their sight
With the hope eventually
Another person I might be
But I will never be a person
And that hope is all a dream
For the creatures walking to and fro
The ones that persons seem
Are all pretending just like me
As they all look around for others
All they ever see is persons
Who in turn are seeing persons
Acting hard to be like persons
So the persons will all see
Just how personably personal
They've all managed to be
So I'll try to be a person
Since there's no way else to be
But nobody is a person
Since not one you'll ever see.
