And when 

I looked into the mirror

a little longer than necessary

I saw

my dead eyes

my dead hair

my dead face

my dead skin

my dead body

I stepped back

because finally

after all these years 

I realized

what I had done

and what I had let them do

I woke up 

to myself

my true self

and saw that

the light

the comfort

the shelter

the love

the home

I was seeking in others

had been living in me

all along

~E