4Thursday October 10 2002
**This poem starts out from the view of myself in the mirror looking out. The last two stanzas are me looking back into my mirror realizing how i've grown**
"As I look into the mirror in my room
My body sets still, my mind like a tomb.
I recognize the person standing in front of me -
Those piercing eyes and meanacing brow: me is he.
Trapped in a world of torment and haze
When my only escape is to catch a gaze
Of my other self living in the real world
When I am loved and respected, red carpets unfurl.
My reflection passes a glance
And I give myself the chance
To stare intently, entering a trance.
I see me and you embraced in an everlasting dance.
This time it is different
I turn away, no pain spent
Tormenting myself, no longer I weep
But cry out to the night, for you to keep.
Within you I love myself
Within you I love ourself
Within me I know that i've healed *Within me I know what I feel*
Within me I know this is real. *Within me I know this love is real*"