I saw her today for the first time

She seemed like she had existed for quite a while

Her face always a smile, a laugh on her tongue

Her voice melodious, crafted like life without sorrow

Eyes bright and hopeful, always looking up

Skin that swallowed the dark with its promising glow

Sadness, troubles, fear did not touch her

I saw her in my mirror, mocking everything I was

She was the mask that I had painted,

The self that had consumed what I once was,

The perfect promise of future.

She was everything I would never be.