Mirror

I look in the mirror,

And I see the five year old child clutching her plushie,

In her blue sweater,

Fixated on her favourite movie, Mowgli .

I look in the mirror,

And I see the nine year old girl petting every dog she sees,

And gasping at anything with shine and shimmer,

Sitting in the park with bruises on her knees.

I look in the mirror,

And I see the thirteen year old girl with books in her hand,

The library better than the real world she finds,

Strident people she can't stand.

I look in the mirror,

And I see the girl who is now fifteen,

To whom cats are nothing short of a treasure, 

And I've loved her through better and worse and everything in between.