To See Me

For so long...looking into the mirror
I saw only a reflection of an image,
a stranger looking back at me.

When looking into my eyes,
I saw only an emptiness, a void.

Beneath those eyes were many fears,
fears of pain,
fears of sorrow,
feelings of no hope.

How could I not know this face before me,
as I stood looking at the image in the mirror?

Where was this person that I used to be,
why couldn't I see?

Turning again looking into the mirror,
I saw my life,
one that had gone out
like a candle being extinguished.

All my pride,
my joy,
my hopes,
my desires,
my passion,
all was gone.

What reflected back from that mirror
was a stranger looking back at me.

Standing there feeling so alone,
lost and confused,
the fear set in, where was this person
I called ME?

Walking away from that image,
never wanting to look again,
my life continued on.

Over time I found myself looking in
that mirror again.
Yet this time when I looked,
what reflected back to me
was a face, my face,
my eyes filled with hope,
a burning love,
a pride of being me,
a passion for living.
No longer a darkness did I see,
for out of my eyes a light was shining,
a reflection of ME!

For you see
I was no longer a stranger
to Me!

Yet there still is that pain deep within,
that pain has taken on
a new meaning in my life.

Through the tears
and
countless hours of feeling alone,
those hours I screamed out and no one heard
slowly through that pain and confusion
emerged the real me.

It took all those disappointments and life hurts
to make me stop
and look at the real Me!!

No longer am I just an image in a mirror
I am a reflection of my life,
those hurts,
those joys,
that hope,
that burning passion,
that endless love.

I see now the true image
the image of Me!

By Deb Montgomery

Published in "On Top Of The Mountain"