Within Me – A Poem

Every time I look into the mirror,[image error]

I see my faults and imperfections:

lazy eye,

missing teeth,

the belly that won’t disappear no matter how much exercise I do.

Thinning hair,

the scars on my body.

And even though they aren’t visible,

I see the two beings which reside inside of me:

Cedric Paulsen and Max Shadow.

Sometimes,

it is like they are a slow steady throb within my body,

emanating from my skin in a harsh black light.

But then I close my eyes,

and within the darkness I can truly see.

I see the kindness that shines its own light to scatter the blackness.

In the darkness,

I can see that light growing and changing,

like the ebb and flow of water.

I am more than my imperfections,

more than just a gap tooth,

a lazy eye,

or the disease and disability that run through my body.

I am a being of light,

bright and beautiful.

Within me,

I carry the breath of the universe.

I carry love,

perhaps the most powerful of magics.

Within me,

I carry a voice that often laughs out loud as if in song,

I carry courage and bravery,

and with my imagination,

I am the creator of worlds.

Within me,

I carry the impossible dream that finds life in the possible.

I open my eyes and look into the mirror again,

and see myself as I am.