Dear Mirror,

I used to hate myself.

So much that when I looked at you,

All that I saw was flesh.

Flesh bound by blood and by bone

Flesh I could not control.

Flesh that was not me, my mind, my body, my soul.

Flesh that was not good enough.

Nothing I ever did was ever good enough

I strived for perfection in every aspect of my life

Using every morsel of energy I had left

From dodging the bullets you sent my way.

You tried to suppress me, yet you do not know that I am defiant by nature

You tried to suffocate me, yet you do not know that there is not a docile bone in my body.

You do not understand that you cannot cage a wild thing

That there are no bars of iron nor steel that can contain me

And that the more you hurt me, the stronger I resist

Until you know your battle is futile.

I used to hate you, yes.

But now I pity you.

For now I know that man springs from master

But you are not my master, no.

That flesh bound by blood and by bone?

That flesh that I can’t control?

Well, that flesh is me, my mind, my body, my soul.

And I am good enough.