I know there’s something wrong with me
There has been for a long time
I know I can’t smile like I used to
This grin is a crude forgery, the cheap kind of counterfeit you don’t want to accept is fake
I know there’s something missing from my programming
Something small
A comma or backslash that is vital for executing the intended functions
I’m 11 point font on a final paper
Your professor might not notice it but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s inadequate
I’m the shoddy locks on a downtown apartment; just for show
I am imitation crab
Cheap
I am the live action remake of a beloved childhood cartoon
I’ll never be able to capture the magic
I am a bathroom sink dye job
The colorless strands muddy the result
I am the green skin hidden by a cheap ring
I am the leaves in your gutter
Out of sight, out of mind
I am a municipal oversight
You won’t realize there are loopholes in your laws until it’s too late
I am the rushed ending to an otherwise wonderful novel
Disappointing
I am a pulled muscle you can’t quite forget about
The sleeve of an old hoodie you worry at when you’re bored
I am the weekly meeting you can’t get out of
The ‘before’ picture
I am the dead batteries in a fire alarm
A fatal mistake
I am the cracked camera on a brand new iPhone
A burnt out light bulb
I am a dress that gets ripped in the wash
A pink shirt that’s leached into crisp white socks
An unwanted stump tarnishing a perfectly manicured lawn
I am the behavior you can’t train out
The shakes that won’t go away no matter how long you’ve been sober
A slant rhyme
I am a dead outlet
A fraying charger
The flat tire you never learned how to change
I am an A.I. that will never quite pass for human
Manufactured mannerisms
Improvised idiosyncrasies
I am the package that comes broken
The chores you never quite get around to
A new building you won’t live to see
I am a botched haircut
An infected piercing
I am inherently flawed
Tainted by the trespassings of my forefathers