Reflections

 

Reflections

I glanced at the bathroom mirror today

and stared way longer than I should've.

There was a strange old man there, staring back,

Much older than the one I once knew.

I did the polite thing and introduced myself.

I told him I wasn’t sure when we visited last, 

or how long it had been since we spoke.

He didn’t smile; he just nodded his head

like he’d been waiting for me to notice.

I asked him how his life had been.

“Exhausting in every way,” he said,

and the honesty hit harder

than I expected.

I managed to mumble, “the same,”

because there wasn’t anything else to say.

For a minute we just stood there,

me and the man I was,

or maybe the man I’ve become,

trying to figure out who owed who an apology.

And when I finally backed away,

I wasn’t sure if I’d just met a stranger

or recognized an old friend

I’d been avoiding.

wcd