Butterflies

My belly shook and trembled as I looked into the mirror.

Who was this strange new goddess who I saw before me here?

A lifetime of rejection from other souls I've loved,

Had captured all my butterflies. Into a box they'd been shoved.

But now my breath came ragged as my eyes began to clear.

My illusions of denial fell with no one here to leer.

Her long dark hair, her beautiful eyes, her face it was alive!

Her reflection was magnetic. Her aura had finally arrived!

Heart beating loudly in my ears as I stared into the mirror.

The tight lid of that butterfly box now cracked open just a hair,

And from the inner recesses, winged creatures slid into the air.

I'd never seen this woman before, though all my life she's been here

The veils of my mind had hidden her. Her visage was never clear.

The hot blood rushed up to my cheeks and I felt a trembling fear.

"Am I allowed to love myself?" I wondered, the answer suddenly here.

The butterflies danced around my head, then circled 'round my belly.

The lies of the world dissolved like ice as my mind turned into jelly.

How dare they keep her from me? I asked. How had I never seen

this gorgeous woman in front of me, her beauty clear and clean?

From across the room, the reflection bloomed. A stranger, yet a friend.

My love for her was instantly boundless. I knew it would NEVER end.

The demons of self-doubt and denial fled away with silent screams.

As I beheld the one in front of me. The woman of my dreams.