Boris Dralyuk

4 BALLADS OF I

             I.

I is a pronoun—
Marked by no distinction;
I is an element of diction;
I is common—
In both fiction and non-fiction,
In lines of prose and verse,
And other forms of composition.
But what applies to I, applies to you—
And what is true for I, for you, is also true.

             II.

I should have been a bird—
Not just a silly word:
Sprawled upon a page,
Growing faint with age.
I could have been better—
Than a single letter.

             III.

He will say a few words;
You will shed a tear;
She will hide her face—
And I will disappear.

             IV.

Merely minutes prior,
To the death of I,
More than a dozen pronouns,
Were all heard to cry:
But a few months after,
I wondered aloud,
Would there be a tear,
In the entire crowd?

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