Hidden Track (revised)

a dreadful fate
would be to wake up someday
and find i’ve been reborn
as a pop song.

worse yet, born into a family
of pop songs.
(worse again, born a twin.
it would be intolerable
to look to my left
and find myself.)

i’d cringe if all my other siblings were
catchy and simple.
what fear to have
a mother and father at the top
of whatever charts might exist
in such a place.

i know i could never stick
in anyone’s ear long enough
to become a favorite.
even if i did, i am sure
it might happen once at most
in my life. i could never
carry my own tune. i could never be hummed
by millions. i could never make
my family proud.