DIMINUENDO

What do I see in the mirror

when I take a hard look

into ocean-colored eyes

that hold so much and tell so little,

 

Do I see what everyone else does,

the stereotypes they handed me,

that I’ve sewn into my self

knowingly and unknowingly,

 

Do I see the strong confident man

with two decades under his belt,

who faces the day with a grin and a laugh

ready for the storms on the horizon,

 

Or do I see something different from

the expectations of myself and others,

past the façade that’s been patched together

from labels, assumptions, and dreams,

 

To see the boy underneath

who for the first time in his life

has left a once-coveted shelter

to feel the world and be frightened by it.