The Opacity of Thomas Monarch

On his twentieth birthday, Thomas Monarch
awoke to find himself quickly disappearing.

His reflection was fading and
he was rarely noticed on the street.

He was never called on in class and
he found himself continually being
ignored in social settings.

His thoughts, his words, his actions,
all diluted.

Before the week was out, he realized that
nearly all of his substance had been funneled
into the being of another, into the being of she,
into the being of her.

His deep well was now filled with transparency,
and yet his substance lived on in the deep rich opacity of her.
Where she used to be shallow and transparent,
now she was shallow and opaque with a blackberry hue,
giving the illusion of depth, of richness, of vitality.

And he, though empty, just watches birthdays
float by as he waits to be filled.