Reflection... Poem by chantelle ribeiro

I smile
Dark circles under my eyes
My compact my trusty friend
Hiding the tell-tale signs
Of an exhausted spirit
Always looking strong
Always seeming brave
But am I?
My reflection thinks otherwise
Fine lines seemed to have appeared overnight
But not bad - I think - for my age
Today I rediscovered old photographs in a box
Unblemished innocence
A beautiful child
And I search my soul for her
I know she hides somewhere inside
Shy and scared
for she once got hurt
Yet I remember good times
The softness of my father's eyes
Ponytails decorated with soft satin ribbons
I sigh
A tear trickles slowly down my face
For the lost years of that child
The ones I will never get back
My teenage years
Silent and violent
Confusion and a broken soul
A very big and scary hole
But still I rose above it!
As I sit here now
Immersed in the why and how
I know I am lucky
I know I AM STRONG
and I know now this is where I belong
I breathe
I watch the world around me
And embrace another day
I step out into the Winter sun
All the weariness melts away...