Illusory

by Ashley in a balloon; the only way is up.

There’s a girl in the mirrior

Who I don’t quite understand

Her face is mine

Her shape is mine

But she smiles entirely differently

She shows brilliance,

She shows strength,

She shows intelligence,

She knows no limits

To imagination

Then I look at myself without the mirror

At I see myself is darkened eyes

I show laziness

I show insensitivity

I show pride

Every day, I carry

Regret of the last

I become filled with frusteration

The only thing between me and her

Feels like merely glass

Yet we are so entirely different.

I get up from my chair, and I walk away from the mirror

I go back to school with determined footsteps

I’m tired of dreaming

It’s time to become something real.

- Ashley