Sentience by Valerie Parente

My favorite kind of poetry
is the meta kind,
like a Russian doll
with another doll inside,
when I’m self-aware
of the mirror outside
and there’s manipulation
to what’s materialized.
No I’m no mother
but I birth what I write,
no I’m no nest
but I am my own shrine.
I am my perception
manifested from eyes.
I am a feedback loop
in the world’s design.

– Valerie Parente (2-23-2021)