Thirteen Years to Tomorrow – A Poem

I find myself here every year,

standing by the same pool of water

wondering what the new cycle will bring.

It’s been an honour to watch myself

grow into who I am,

the reflection of me rippled by the water.

There was a part of me that thought

I would beat this disease

that lives within me

and that I would find

a way past all of it,

break through the wall

into the light of a new day.

Thirteen years living with

this intruder has taught me differently.

I can’t push through everything

and ignore the difficulties;

they teach me who I really am,

remind me what I’m capable of.

Thirteen years has taught me

nightmares can exist during the daytime,

take place when the sun is out,

not only hiding in shadows;

I’ve had to rearrange how I think

of where terror can be.

Thirteen years ago has given me

a different perspective on who I was,

and who I wanted to be;

all these years have taught me that,

despite what the shadows my try to tell me,

I am capable of real magic.

Thirteen years have shown me

who I really am and,

even though there are days

where I don’t recognize the reflection

that I can see in the water,

its only because the spell I cast

all those years ago

came true.