The Personal Pronoun Of Lack Of Choice

When I was a child there was an 'us'
in which the 'them' mattered more,
and we all knew it and denied it.

There was a 'we' in the crowd
that I had to follow, 

that over-ran me
and left me hollow.

There was 'I' too, but it was one
that I was never allowed to be, 

until long after it could be counted.