The girl in the mirror

The girl in the mirror

scrutinizes

my slender physique

with inquisitive hazel eyes.

Thick liquid eyeliner

accentuates

the perception of imperfection

already implanted

in my fifteen-year-old mind.

I trace the contours

of my tiny waist,

grimacing

as my body curves

like the bottom

of an hourglass

slowly filling with time.

Flicking

a long brunette strand

over my freckled shoulder

I peer inside my eyes

revelling

in the introspective green

deepening

like the canopy

of an old-growth forest

transcending time.

The answers

to questions

I have not yet asked

glisten

in the unwavering contact

I hold

with my own reflection.

My scrutiny dissipates

in golden nebulas

floating in emerald pools

as my eyes become

a window to the past

and a gateway to the future.

I see the tormented child

I was

I see the wise woman

I am becoming.

Beneath my long lashes,

my almond-shaped eyes

swirl

with warm honey,

rimmed

by a blue circle

that contains

the story of my life

and all that is yet to come.

The dazzling shimmer

of welling tears

illuminates

my fearlessness and fragility

as my soul pierces through the illusion

like a diamond blade.

Venerable

in my vulnerability

the girl in the mirror

asks

Am I her ally

or her enemy

who will I become?