A Poet Has (No) Identity

After my daughter, whose name is not Hannah, put her own picture in a small desk-top frame that said "Hannah" on it, I considered it a metaphor for the cliché (it seems my obsession with the cliché has become, alas, cliched); how one takes a ready-made thought and frames oneself with it, thus misleading others as to one's personal identity and perceptions.

More recently, I saw my daughter's picture on my desk and read the metaphor differently. It could be that my daughter, whose name is not Hannah, is not prejudiced against something that is not "hers" if it works. She has not said anything about playing tricks on people with this arrangement. Ultimately, the frame complements her picture even though it is not her frame or name. She identifies with another and retains her identity.