In the Registry

A square of paper, on which was hand-
 
written: name and date of birth, address, civil
status. Applied for at the start of the year,

good for the entire year—at the end 

of which, one surrendered the invalidated
document. If lost, you could file for a certified

copy. An apparatus that relied on a certain 

kind of trust—and many rubber bands
and shelves for alphabetized filing.

Who am I if not the myriad changes I took on

through paperwork? Though I've abdicated
some names and selves, there is one I glimpse

still sitting patiently amid the rubble.