Somewhere, I Swear, I’ve Been Before
A glitch? A dream? Or just another me, living another life?
“I’ve been here before,” I whisper,
as I step into a room I swear I’ve never seen.
The air hums with something I can’t name,
like an old song I almost remember,
or a dream slipping through my fingers.
My friend laughs, “Déjà vu?”
But is it, though?
Or was it me, in another place—another me—
standing in this exact spot,
at this exact time,
thinking this exact thought?
I turn my head too fast,
catch a flicker in the corner of my eye—
a shadow that shouldn’t be there,
a movement that never was.
Tell me, have you ever seen something shift
just before your brain catches up?
Like reality had to reload itself?
And let’s talk about the dreams—
the ones too vivid to be fake,
the ones where you know things
you couldn’t possibly know.
Maybe I’m just sleep-drunk,
or maybe I’m remembering another life,
another version of me,
who made different choices.
“Okay, but if there’s another you out there,”
someone scoffs,
“why don’t they just… show up?”
I grin.
“What if they do? What if that’s why you feel like
you’ve met someone before,
even when you haven’t?”
What if the parallel universes aren’t separated?
What if they leak?
What if the echoes of other timelines
cling to us like perfume?
What if every strange coincidence,
every I swear I’ve seen this before,
is just the universe’s way of winking at us?
I don’t have the answers,
but I keep asking the questions.
And maybe somewhere—another me is doing the same,
reading these words,
smiling,
whispering:
“I knew it.”
About the Creator
Olayinka Atiyeye
Poet. Soft chaos. Professional heartbreaker (on paper). I write the kind of lines that haunt you a little, in the best way. If you like your feelings in stanza form, you’re in the right place.
Keep reading
More stories from Olayinka Atiyeye and writers in Poets and other communities.
Day 4 of Quitting
If this is how sobriety feels, maybe it’s better to go through life a little buzzed… this, along with other hits like, I want to kill myself, I wish I was dead, and I’m going to throw myself off a bridge have been the only thoughts on rotation these past few days. I promise myself that if, in a month, I still feel like this (‘this’ meaning despondent, full of rage, and simultaneously numb) I can go back to smoking. Until mid-February though? Nicotine is off the table.
By sleepy drafts5 days ago in Longevity
Comments (2)
One time a teacher of mine in middle school was giving a lecture and I swear I heard the exact lecture from the same teacher before, even though he’d never given it before, and I knew exactly what he was going to say before he said it and was also able to answer all of his questions like I’d already known the answers. It was weird! Great work
Ever had a déjà vu so strong you knew something wasn’t right? Or a dream that felt too real? Tell me—what’s your weirdest experience with this? 👀