I am not that image in the glass
where time has tamed my skin to ash
where wrinkles trace with graceless ease
the ravages of time’s disease
dull my eyes and gray my hair
a look of desperation there
where once I smiled and laughed out aloud
reaching above beyond the clouds
holding joy in my outstretched hands
dreaming my dreams planning my plans
but then as now I find my place
I know my name and easily trace
the path I’ve travelled the life I’ve led
the love I’ve known the tears I’ve shed
through the poems that lurk inside my head
releasing me from the bonds of dread
giving me wings so I can fly
giving me hope so I can try
speaking my truth when I am mute
resolving each of my heart’s disputes
promising me that I will prevail
teaching me how to set my sail
by winds that blow both hard and true
confirming what I always knew
my heart is charged by poetry
I am the poem the poem is me – Susan A. Katz (All rights reserved)