The Reprise

As my hands skim along my stretch stained thighs

I see a glimpse of the girl who sat here

One year ago

Struggling to keep her eyes dry.

*

But my breath is no longer panting,

My heart, no longer pounding.

Because I have learned from then.

Because I can sit in this red leather booth

And not worry about them.

*

The elder woman with the sage flowery cardigan

No longer comes around

And a part of me knows why

But doesn't want to believe what is bound.

*

Still, each day, I look at the empty booth

And thank her.

I thank her in my mind

For everything that may have been a lie.

*

Because it wasn't her that saved me.

It was the idea of her that I created.

The image of her past

Had helped me grow and become.

*

And so, by thanking the elder woman

Who no longer sits in the red leather booth,

I am thanking myself.

I saved her.

*

I can fully embrace these bright pink scars,

And disregard their thoughts of what they know.

And because of it,

I never miss the illuminating colors of the rainbow,

or the bright and shining stars.