3300
I gaze into the looking glass day in and day out
Applying a camouflage that would faintly shout
An image carefully painted for the onlookers to see
The fabricated “me” with an approval guarantee
I stare into the looking glass
To precisely align and adjust my mask
I peek to make sure that I’m not exposing
My heart, my soul and that my slip isn’t showing
Decades pass
Certainties clash
Visions distorted
Realities aborted
My facade so convincing
I bamboozled myself
Milk cartons show me missing
With an image of someone else
What is it I see that I don’t like
What is it I like that I don’t see
What obscures my vision so that I cannot view
The persona of me that is genuine and true
Time lapses
Truth collapses
Fake alliances
Hidden biases
This concealment was meant to protect and gain acceptance
But the cost of admittance came with a penance
No one’s opinion matters greater than your own
False approvals by the world leaves you blind and all alone
Confidence restored
Image transformed
Identity approved
Mask removed
As I glance in the mirror I see something has changed
The camouflage has vanished it no longer remains
The reflection now clear that I once could not see
The good, bad, and ugly now starring back at me
Mirror, mirror you see right through me
Reflecting "what is" for the universe to see
Mirror, mirror now proudly reveals
The echo of beauty in that which is real
