Works

A Redemption You Don’t Deserve

Who are you
Do I know you from somewhere
Eyes boring into the mirror
Fail to recognize who is there

This eerie visage
I continue to scrutinize
Placing a trembling hand on
An image I no longer recognize

I never expected this
Eyes peering at me without regret
It is all I have ever wanted to see
But I cannot believe what I see yet

Eyes not ringed in dark circles
This face not contorted in pain

What finally did it
Tell me, because I don’t know
When did all the inner demons
Decide to get up and go

I continue to stare
At my double in the glass
With a desperate need to grasp
What I should just let pass

There is no reason to believe
In redemption given to the guilty
Something inside still lingers
Something inside will not agree

Though this reflection says otherwise
I meet its gaze solemnly
Instilled disbelief clashes
With this image of me

Eyes not ringed in dark circles
This face not contorted in pain