Help Me

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"Help me....."

She whispered
To no one in particular.

Her eyes were trained
At her reflection,
A sole tear trailing
Down her cheek.

"Help me...."
She beseeched the woman
Inside, the one who was
Supposed to be in control.

The one who lost control
Leaving the little child,
The little monster that
Destroyed everything it touched.

"Help me make it right,
Help me....
Help me be the person
I'm supposed to be."

Her voice cracked
Into razor sharp shards
Which cut deeply,
So deeply.

The shards cut to the bone,
Cutting to her core
Waking up the woman
Who's help she needed.

The reflection spoke,
"And what is it
Do you want?"

"You, I want you
To take control
Of this body
Of this life,"
She answered.

"If I take over,
If I take control,
What is to become of you?"
The reflection asked.

She sniffed,
"I will fade away,
I do not belong here,
I'm too weak,
Too scared."

The reflection stared at her,
It's eyes absorbed
Every inch of her,
Then it spoke."

"No!"

She gasped,
He hand covering her mouth.

"This is not my life
To live, it is yours.
I come when I must,
In that moment before
You break, never before."

"I'm breaking,
Don't you see the cracks,
Can't you feel the pain,
Can't you feel it!"
She touched the mirror
As though trying to
Transfer the pain.

The reflection looked away,
Hating to see desperation
On her face,
"That is not pain,
This is pain."
It positioned its hand
In line with hers.

A jolt of pain
Ran through her,
It ebbed and flowed,
It felt alive and
Coursed through her veins.

When she could take no more,
She pulled away.
She braced herself
On the face basin,
Her head hanging down.

She looked up
At her reflection
Through a curtain of hair.

"That, my dear, is pain
And people have taken
That pain and survived,
No, they've thrived."
The reflection's eyes
Were steely.

"Do you understand
What I'm telling you?"
When no answer came,
The reflection asked again,
"Do you understand!?!?"

She stood taller,
Looking into the reflection's eyes.

"Do you understand?!?!?"
The reflection roared.

"I understand that
You won't help me
So I better help myself,"
She replied at last.

The reflection smiled
A knowing smile,
"I already helped you,
My dear, I helped you
Find your backbone."

The smile disappeared,
The face reflected
In the mirror was
One that held a deeper purpose,
One that was in control.

It was her face.

Deep in the quiet
Of her mind,
She heard a stern voice,
"'Help me,' she says,
She can help herself,
She always could."

The woman within
Went back to sleep
And she became awake.


Submitted to Poets United Poetry Pantry #128