My reflection stares back at me
Full of curiosity and yes regret and pathos.
Eyes limpid pools of light revealing a doorway
to a thousand memories cloaked with age,
but waiting for deliverance.
From infant to man encompassing all that is fear and joy
The clouds roll by and I find myself set free,
from the shackles that bind me.
My skin wrinkled like a furrowed field in spring
its bark like texture, resists the elements of life.
Yet there are questions behind the smile,
that struggles to grow with the knowledge
it supports in that very moment of passing.
But do we cry, lean upon another’s shoulder,
burden them with our darkness.
The mirror cannot judge only reflect
What we are In our nakedness.
We judge ourselves through the eyes of others,
those who would construct barriers out of their prejudices
reinforcing them and obscuring the truth we should embrace.
Look they say overweight, plain, thinning hair.
Words that reflect their own insecurities,
painted on the egos and perceptions of others.
We all fear the future seeds sown in our past
where we cultivate sweet smells and destroy the weeds.
It is as it has always been, for we shun the darkness.
within it are concealed the building blocks of who we are
what we have become. Yet we smile while tears tear us apart.
And we laugh lost in the silences where we become
chameleons seeking acceptance and peace of mind
So look to the day all that it holds where
there are equal measures of light and dark.
Where silence can be broken by laughter or a river of tears.
Words we use them as weapons, signposts to our thoughts
without really thinking about what lies behind them.
And they are powerful they can trigger emotions
that can and have shaped this world we live in.
they can cultivate a smile or give rise to scars,
that equal the brightest of stars, in our own firmament.
They shine brightly long after the pain has disappeared.
we are fragile weak, and yet strong and opinionated,
yes in truth we are all looking in the mirror.
Go on do it have one last long look,
before you turn away open your eyes
and there in the reflection tell me…………
what do you see?