Tainted Reflection

Oh mother! How many times have you sat here just as I do? Looking at the reflection of someone you don’t know Reading all the lines crossing your once perfect complexion Comparing today’s reality with yesterday’s picture How many times have you gazed at me with jealous eyes? Seeing all that you have lost Dragging me to become what you could not When all I wanted was the touch of your love Now I gaze upon my reflection Trying to see through this window of your soul What makes you take my childhood dreams? And toss them away like some broken toy You stripped away my innocence with make-up and dresses Gave me hard lessons, that beauty is power Stifled my happiness in the pursuit of fame And left me with nothing but a face I despise I look into this mirror of my fortune I see a child, an angel, with broken wings Chained to the will of an expectant guardian One who will stop at nothing to gain what is not hers. My dreams are not your dreams My ambitions are not yours to live My future not yours to borrow Oh mother, Please let me be!