THE IMAGE

I saw her smile,

I saw her laugh,

And talk to those around;

But her smile

Was unsure, hesitating,

Her laughter did not reach

Her solemn eyes;

They remained lost.

She looked but did not see.

Her words were,

But not the portrait

Of her thoughts.

 

Her soul danced restlessly

Through misty eyes,

As anxious to be released

From its bondage,

As a caged bird long confined.

Those barriers of isolation

So surrounded her,

That she was alien to herself;

 

Or just did not know

how far she had drawn herself

into the impenetrable shell

– her loneliness.

 

I hated and loved her all my life,

Not knowing it was me!