I see you in the mirror some mornings
But I don't recognize you every time.
You seem so clearheaded and certain,
So free of the terrors that haunt me
Like ghosts that become real
Hardening into things that chase
Me from where I hide and attack
With wrenchings and truth that shake
Everything loose until I fall in pieces
To the cold ground of lost worth.

I see you in the mirror some mornings
So bright-eyed as though those years
Of war and warring, of fighting in all
Directions; no trust, no friends,
No belonging, nowhere to go to be safe,
As if all those years were just nothing,
Not real, gone in that gleaming smile
That flares over me. Blinds me.

I see you in the mirror some mornings
Combing your hair and straightening things.
You seem so put together and happy.
You hold yourself as though secure
In your place. Confident. Where, I wonder,
Do you get that? Hasn't the world
Smashed you down daily like a bug?
Haven't you seen life dwindling into kindling;
All the flames turned to smolder?
Hasn't love crushed you yet? Hasn't
Betrayal stained your countenance
With down-turning smiles? Don't you
Know that it's all like those rocks
On the beach getting ground down to sand?

I see you in the mirror some mornings;
It makes me laugh. Are you so naive
That you still believe in good and goodness?
Hasn't time sifted those myths out yet?
Look at you in your clean shirt and clear face.
Where do you think you are going anyway?
Do you really believe today will be the day?
Do you still believe in love and trust?
Really? It's hard to believe. I'm looking
In your eyes. We blink together.
Now you are smiling at me. It feels nice.
I want to be you, some mornings.
If I could be the me like you
It would be the best possible me.
That's the you I really wanna be.

02/16/2011

Posted on 02/17/2011
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