I turned to see a face I did not recognize

There was a familiarity I did not understand

I wait for the recognition to flood my memory

But it never comes

 

She looks at me with soft, unknowing eyes

We stare for a few moments, if minutes

And once we have passed each other

All is forgotten

 

Passing building after building, I wondered

Should I have made an introduction?

Why was I so intrigued by a woman?

One I did not even know

 

It’s been a year since I’ve thought of that moment

And the significance, has finally dawned

I had been eye-to-eye with a different story

One of my own

 

They say that if you purely saw yourself

Without a mirror or a reflection

You could not recognize yourself

For you see yourself differently than others

 

My eyes meet my eyes in the mirror

And the familiarity is not lost on me

And yet, I do not see that woman’s face

She is not me and yet she is