I look in the mirror and appears a woman I do not recognize
Time has stolen her youth 
And for some odd reason I am the one left with a pang of betrayal 
Her rough shriveled skin that once delicately portrayed smooth porcelain 
Is now brittle and dispersed with veins a transparent beryl color,
mimicking a roadmap as ancient as her soul
I wonder about all the places she has been
I wonder about all the things her dark forest eyes have seen
I look deeper and deeper into the mirror and I am taken back when
I see the foreign woman staring at me
Flushed with resentment and anger
I yell over and over again 
Stop! Stop staring at me!
But she continues to watch me - yearning after what was once hers
She does not wonder about the places I have been or the things I have seen
Instead she tries to warn me about the places I will go and the things I will soon see
I become frustrated as her mouth forms words but nothing comes

to my ear
The mirror has muted her voice creating a barrier between the foreign woman and me 
We let silence speak for us
My eyes never leave her face nor hers mine 
She is old and fragile 
Her hair hangs in thin strands 
The corners of her mouth droop 
The arc of her brows burrow along the crease of her forehead 
Time has stolen her youth and I know she longs to have it back
I still do not recognize the foreign woman but she recognizes me
With my smooth porcelain skin, rose lips, naive eyes and 
cascades of black hair falling in waves around my waist 
She knows me
And soon I will know her