They tell her how she should be,
Grown, successful, a wife, a mother,
She slips away.
They ask why she fails,
As if she has an answer,
She brushes it off.
They tell her to smile,
To spend time with people,
She closes her doors.
They wonder what goes on
Inside a head as beautiful as hers,
She hides the scars.
They look on her with pity,
With images of her success,
She ducks her head.
Her mother is angry,
Why can’t she be like everyone else?
She comforts herself.
Brother asks if she’s okay,
She doesn’t know what that means,
She lies again.
Sister brags about her job,
Holds up her successes.
She fakes her pride.
Children want her to play,
She flexes her arms and feels the pain
And slinks away.
They ask where she’s been,
Why haven’t they heard from her?
She leaves them on read.
I pace to the mirror,
I look up and meet her gaze.
She is me. I am her.