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Braxton Crockett is an undergraduate at Endicott College in Beverly, MA.

Disappearing

Braxton Crockett

I learned the art of disappearing
without ever leaving the room
a quiet magic trick
performed in daylight.
I stand where the light falls cleanest,
speak when spoken to,
smile at the right angles,
become exactly what is expected
and nothing more.

It’s easy, really
people only see what they’re looking for.
So I give them outlines,
a sketch instead of a story,
a surface smooth enough
to never invite questions.

Inside, I am louder
a crowded hallway of thoughts,
doors slamming, voices echoing,
a thousand versions of myself
reaching for the handle.

But out here,
I am still water.
Unbroken.
Unread.

They pass by me every day
and call it knowing.

And maybe that’s the strangest part
to be seen so often
and never once
be found.

— Braxton Crockett

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