I look into the mirror and ask questions
Who am I? What is my purpose?
Simplistic thoughts with complex answers,
but the mirror never answers back.

Through the mirror I see unfamiliar faces,
strangers to my inner thoughts.
The ones who ask,
"How are you?" and "How was your day?",
but don't genuinely care about the reply

These strangers receive the same answer each time.
I'm fine, my day was fine.
Except that is never the truth.

Most days I'm not fine,
most days aren't fine,
but why do I avoid speaking my mind?

I hold back because I'm afraid,
too nervous to let people in.
I hold back because of the hurt
that swirls about in my head.

A few times I let people know me,
the real me.
But turns out they took advantage.
The people I loved most,
cared the least.

From all this, the mirror should be shattered.
Fragmented from the pain and disappointment.
If my heart is broken,
why does the mirror remain whole?

Tears well up in my eyes,
as I think of smashing the mirror with my fists.
I blink my eyes and breathe in deeply,
and one final time...

I look into the mirror and ask
Who am I? What is my purpose?
The answers somehow flow freely from my lips,
because I have realized,
I am me and my purpose is to move forward.
To move beyond the past and continue being
ME.