Stranger in the Mirror

Who is this woman, this stranger I see?
She stands in the place where I’d usually be.
This glass must be broken, this image is strange
It almost looks like me, but subtly changed.
It’s not quite the face, or the hair, or the style;
A bitter-sweet tilt has crept into her smile.
She has all my features, my lighthearted air,
But something is missing, and something is there.
I once knew a woman who shared the same face,
And she used to stand in that very same space.
But, back then she was still a child, and now
Her soul, though its salted, is better somehow.
With a gleam in her eye, and strength in her stand
A powerful will, and a dream in her hand.
She no longer looks to be scared, or unsure,
Expressions I had often seen there before.
Maybe she’s missing the twinkle that came
With an untroubled heart she can no longer claim.
But though I may miss her, it doesn’t appear
That this one is lacking what made her so dear.
She still has my eyes, which shine hopeful and true,
And she still seems to have some more growing to do.
But now, she seems like she could conquer the world,
This woman who no longer looks like a girl.

– s. Clark