Through the years the woman looking back
At me from my mirror has been so changeable
As to be unrecognisable from time-to-time
By those nearest and dearest, and even by
me
The early years, before my twenties, are
blurry
But I was in the fashion business so I have
A photographic record and can look at it
And say, oh – so that’s who I was back then
After I married, I would often look in the
mirror
And depending on the day, say to the woman
I found there – you are the luckiest girl
alive, or,
What have you done? Where can you run?
There were times when I would stumble into
My bathroom afraid to turn on the light,
frightened
To confront the crone I knew was awaiting
me
In the mirror there, especially if she had
been there long
Often-times, I would glimpse her
accidentally
And she would rail at me to end it all and
I would
Let her, listening intently, then crawling
away
To whatever hidey-hole I’d fashioned for a
time
The crone would never leave me willingly,
on her
Own – I would have to run away, most often
to
A hospital, away from mirrors, for a time,
to oust
Her from my house – then, when I saw a
semblance
Of myself reflected back – I knew I could
return
To family, to sanity – to try again, and I
would
Reinvent the woman I thought I should be
Becoming wife,
mother, trying always to stay sane
After many, many
years – I found the mirror less
Intimidating and
the crone appeared infrequently
Or maybe I
became used to her and familiarity gave
Me a certain
advantage – I knew I could beat her
Or even learn to
live with her and so I did
Now she and I
are one – we try to live together
In a kind of
truce, with a sort of wisdom
I know she can
take me down if she puts her mind to it
She knows I am
stronger than I used to be
And don’t go to
ground nearly as quickly
Or without
putting up a fight, as I did in the
Good old days
—we are making it work somehow
There is an old
adage about living your life
In such a way so
that you can face yourself,
Look at yourself
in a mirror — I get that now
I'm finally able
to do it, at least today I can.
S.E.Ingraham©
smiles..it is nice when we get to the point that the mirror holds less intimidation you know....i like the transformation in your verse....
ReplyDeleteDeep stuff, Sharon! Alas, we have to do it anew every day - but it comes easier with practice.
ReplyDeleteStory of my life!
ReplyDelete