Reflections

Reflections

I often stand before mirrors searching,

For the younger man who in it could be lurking.

Gone are the castles residing on pinnacles of success,

Now having crumbled causing me to beat upon my chest.

In mirrors I’ve seen myself in places far and near,

Some I’ve steered away from because of fear.

It’s not the wall upon which the mirror is hung,

It’s the passage of time my songs that have been sung.

Walls splintering and the peeling of paint,

Reflect a world within me that sometimes faints.

I know I’ve been told all things have an end,

But it’s not this vision, this ending to which I’m akin.

I’ve wanted to refocus those empty yesteryears,

To bend them and shape them sweet songs in my ears.

Yet, the music I seek, warm melodies of life,

Are not to be found in this world’s strife.

I turned away from decay and abandoned some aspirations,

Of days that might have been better, of days of contemplation.

It’s the man in the mirror I’m trying to find,

That person who has traveled within me for some time.

I still see him reflected every now and then,

Even in vacant rooms with tarnished mirror walls without trim.

It’s the reflection of who I use to be that I seek to see,

The youthful man with hope, faith, and a destiny.

The reflection in the mirror isn’t the old man of today,

But a face of hopes and dreams and blessings displayed.

Tears swell in my heart as I give thanks for the memories,

Of a life with its twists and turns and blessing a plenty.

By: Dan R. Fowler

For: Astrid