You Know My Name

You know my name.
Have you met my soul?
Can you read the thoughts
Imprinted in ink and blood
On the deepest, cobwebbed corners of my core?

You have heard the words  of my tongue,
But would you listen to the whispers that go unheard?
The unmade screams and unvoiced pleas
That can't be formed by vocal chords?

You have seen my face.
But do you see the rust that paints this skeleton
From all the tears that were never shed,
Tears for who I was--or could have been?

You know my name.
Can you feel my pain?
Can you feel the anguish that lurks deep and dark
Beneath the superficial pricks and pangs?

You know my name.
But have you met
Me?
Have you seen the world as I have seen?
For just an instant, would you place yourself
Where I have been?
Implant your spirit under my skin?
Flail frantically in my whirlwind?
For beneath flesh, muscle, sinew, and bone,
I am a maelstrom.
I am a scream.
I am the wretched creak of un-oiled hinges
Reluctant to swing free and
Release the riot roiling within me.

I am not just a name.

You don't know me.