I Am Power

For too long, I’ve mistaken the faces around me as reflections of my own experience.

For too long, I’ve searched for meaning in every emotion they expressed,

and sought appraisal for my worth from their words.

For too long, I shunned a mirror, favoring instead their stories about me,
about my accomplishments,

about my humanity.

For too long, I forced myself into the impossible
twists and bends of their mold,
never laying flush against it

despite gashes and scrapes on my curves and edges.

But no more.

I hold the mirror now,
and as I gaze into my own eyes
I see endless stars exploding in space,
a symphony of darkness and light that only the cosmos can contain.
I see Me.
I see Power,
for I am Power.

Written May 2023