Poemorama for National Poetry Month

The Stranger Within Me

Song for an impostor

Image by the author

What’s with this girl? She just suddenly appears, standing there! High heels tittupping, a long skirt, and a handbag Thinking she’s quite the woman!

What’s in that adorned head of hers? In that perfectly coiffed hair? Once crazy, now found Once lost, now discovered

Who was she before now? Who is she now compared to what she was? Which one is inside the other? Which one is the imposter?

Now she speaks, now she smiles But sometimes she falls silent and turns inward Sometimes she looks out the open window Sometimes she longs for the fall She feels safe with the wrong things

Once crazy, they said Once nothing Once dry, now wet Full of thirst, full of hunger Full of names and unspoken words

Full of courage And now cursed

What’s behind that confident attitude? She was more beautiful when silent More beautiful when small Now she’s blossomed — what a pity!

It’s no good for spitting It’s no good for laughter It’s no good for abandonment It’s no good for mockery It’s no good for chance

But you’ll look back You’ll see yourself in the shadows You’ll remember the pain And long for the addiction You’ll love the past Oh, you will!

— will you?

What’s with this crazy act? She’s forgotten the crumbs she was given By the cruel hand that claimed to be a friend Now she bites instead of smiling Now she screams instead of nodding Now she strikes fear instead of being afraid

Who was the imposter who used to answer? Who is this one standing there And now looking at me with her head held high? What is this woman’s name?

Once crazy, they said Once nothing Once dry, now wet Full of thirst, full of hunger Full of names and spoken words.

I used tittuping in my poem — it’s one of the 30 uncommon words in Paper Poetry’s Poemorama challenge.

**tittup** — verb: to prance or frolic in an exaggerated manner — noun: the sound made by high-heels

[embed]Poemorama 2026 Our National Poetry Month challengemedium.com

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— Isabella Luiz is a writer, prolix, redundant and Brazilian.

She has poetry in collections published in Brazil and Portugal and a mediocre book in progress. Follow me on Medium for more stories.

Other writings by the author:

[embed]Naked Mist The woman of tomorrowmedium.com