Invisible

Before I finish my story, someone interrupts. I’ll

stir melting ice with a straw and watch attention go

toward the louder mouths around the table, settling down

on whoever speaks with unquestioned authority. Even in

conversations I began, my words vanish from memory and history

repeats itself: someone steals my thought and suddenly all

the faces brighten, bodies leaning eagerly over

each other to praise the brilliance I offered to the

circle minutes earlier. Maybe every crowded world

needs a ghost to haunt it quietly as

the living collect applause. I vanish into the

silence of being unheard, learning it’s easy to become invisible,

even among people who call me their girl.

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Golden Shovel based on the song "Invisible Girl" by Kasey Chambers and the line “I’ll go down in history all over the world as the invisible girl.”