New Names on the Pages

Did you catch that?

That little flip, the little break

It’s almost like

This novel I’m writing

Started a new chapter, all by itself

I can’t believe I almost missed it

But I think it's more than just a new chapter

It’s more like an entirely new part

An entirely new plot

The main character is still there

But she’s not exactly the same

She’s got those same key characteristics the reader remembers

But something in the inbetween changed

She seems a bit different, a bit off

You just can’t seem to tell what it is though

But there’s a new cast, new names

Maybe a few lingering ones from the last part

But they turn into the background characters

They’re not as important anymore

New names come forward

They litter the pages with their letters

Some names are a bit more special than others

Some names sear their marks into the pages

Some names come and go without another thought

But maybe that’s what it is

It’s those names

It’s those names that make her not quite the same anymore

Was it a good change? Does the reader still like her?

That’s very important, can’t have the reader reading a book they don’t like

With a main character they can’t relate to

But who’s to say that the onlooker is in charge of what she feels

Of what she does

Of who she talks to

Is it really that important?

Should she do what she does just to please the spectators?

Or should she do what she wants?

Sometimes it hurts to do what they say to,

But it’s not supposed to hurt

It's not supposed to make her feel uncomfortable

So maybe she’ll just do what she wants

But maybe she won’t

Maybe she‘ll ask those names

She’ll ask those new names what she should do

And see what they say

After all,

It’s those names that influence her the most

It’s those names that make her who she is.