I’m now a reflection
and not the source,
lost in compliance
without remorse.
To be a mannequin was not my goal,
a model asked to strut and stroll,
wearing a costume that’s not my own,
and yet here I am through guided choice.
Nudged between the here and there,
arriving without realizing I’m nowhere.
To be fake was thought temporary,
adapting to conform to the obligatory;
though over time I became fully lost
in the role that came with hidden costs.
Accommodations were made to address
the need to mold and to impress.
To be less than who I really am,
this shadow like a hologram,
idealizing the show and not the tell,
replaced reality with doctrine’s spell.
The path back has blurred with time;
only forward is the command of the tribe.
To be has been given to others,
the purpose shifted to gladly suffer.
The voice asks for
the greatest of sins:
a fake person,
just a perfect mannequin.
© 2026. Lynn Green. All Rights Reserved. 20260430.
Apr 30
Apr 30, 2026 at 8:14 AM UTC
I’m now a reflection
and not the source,
lost in compliance
without remorse.
To be a mannequin was not my goal,
a model asked to strut and stroll,
wearing a costume that’s not my own,
and yet here I am through guided choice.
Nudged between the here and there,
arriving without realizing I’m nowhere.
To be fake was thought temporary,
adapting to conform to the obligatory;
though over time I became fully lost
in the role that came with hidden costs.
Accommodations were made to address
the need to mold and to impress.
To be less than who I really am,
this shadow like a hologram,
idealizing the show and not the tell,
replaced reality with doctrine’s spell.
The path back has blurred with time;
only forward is the command of the tribe.
To be has been given to others,
the purpose shifted to gladly suffer.
The voice asks for
the greatest of sins:
a fake person,
just a perfect mannequin.
© 2026. Lynn Green. All Rights Reserved. 20260430.
The poem “Compliance” depicts the tragic transformation of an individual into a hollow, compliant vessel through the gradual and deceptive loss of self to social or doctrinal pressures.
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