Memory's Dissonance

I remember it wrong,

but I remember it clear

Teeth in the static of a name I held

dear

Same street, wrong sign,

I swear it moved Same face,

new scar, the proof removed I claw at the seam of a

borrowed year The room tilts sideways when the truth comes near I

said the line before you spoke My hands still smell like yesterday's

smoke False recall with a perfect bite Memory grinds its teeth at

night Did the world rewrite my mouth?

Did the map turn inside out?

Every answer wears a different skin I blink,

and the lie gets in

Mandela, bury me under what changed I know the shape,

but the name feels strange Mandela,

tear the past in two

If I was there,

then so were you

Nothing lines up, nothing stays true

(so were you)

Count it again Count it again The number bends The witness breaks

I was there

I was there

But the tape

says no

Old photograph with the corner torn A different color on the shirt

I wore Names rearrange on a childhood wall

I reach for proof and feel it crawl The crowd repeats what

I deny A thousand mouths with borrowed eyes I know the brand,

I know the scar But history flinches when I push too hard

Mandela, bury me under what changed I know the shape,

but the name feels strange Mandela,

tear the past in two

If I was there,

then so were you

Nothing lines up, nothing stays true

Carve the proof

into

my skin, make it new (so

were you)

Say it again till the memory splits Say it again till the

old truth quits I remember it wrong I remember it clear

Mandela

Mandela