By Anuradha Maitreya
Mirror Shown by everyone to me,
I believed I looked beautiful,
Worthy,
In my mother’s mirror.
I believed I appeared proud,
Confident,
And lovable,
In my father’s mirror.
I believed I was whole,
A sight gratifying
To both soul and eyes,
In his mirror.
I believed I still had much to learn,
Reflected back
In my second parents’ mirror.
I believed I had to fulfill,
To shoulder responsibility,
To make them proud
In my children’s mirror.
I believed I had to keep achieving,
Climbing,
To stand first in line
In the world’s mirror.
But now,
I have shattered these outdated reflections.
Now, I believe
I am who I am-
Unchanged, unbroken, unbound-
In every mirror,
No longer shaped by what they see,
But by the truth which l hold within