Reflection

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Reflection
by Cynthia Piromalli

I see her standing there -
Her face pale and drawn,
Fingers in her hair, pulling,
Mouth wide, screaming.
Her eyes glassed over with a tinge of red.

I can feel her pain
And I so want to reach to her,
Want to help her, hold her,
Make the pain go away,
So far away.

She won’t let me touch her,
She has built up a wall.
Glassed in like an animal now,
So far removed from me.

Yet she is close, I can feel her breath,
Smell her scent
And know the softness of her skin.
She moves as I move.

And only when the tears start to fall -
Blood red down her face -
That I realize she is me.