I was Human

I was human.

I had a pulse
that kept time
with the ordinary things,
morning, hunger,
someone saying my name.

I looked like you.

That is why
you should be careful
when you see me.

I remember
what it felt like
to have warm blood
and a future.

I remember
believing the dead
were somewhere else.

Then I died.

Not all at once.

A little hope went first.
Then my voice.
Then the part of me
that still expected
tomorrow.

What remained
learned how to smile.

Now I stand
where the light ends,
wearing the face
I was born with.

Sometimes people see me
and feel they know me.

They don't.

But you do.

You will.

Because I can already see
the darkness gathering
behind your eyes.

The same darkness
that gathered behind mine.

So don't ask
what happened to me.

Ask yourself
why I recognize you.

Why I have been waiting.

Why your face
looks so familiar.

I was human.

I looked like you.

And I think
you are becoming
what I became.