Flawed Reflection

I stand before the mirror’s gaze, its glass repeats my hidden maze. A girl appears with cracks and scars, a flawed reflection, dimmed by stars. They whisper, “Strength is born in you,” yet shadows rise to prove untrue. A voice inside, so sharp, so near, declares, “You’ll fail, you’ll disappear.” Each day I sip self-doubt’s refrain, its bitter cure, its steady chain. “Can I? Should I? What if I fall?” The questions echo, cage me small. They call her smart, her light so wide, but I feel hollow, lost inside. Anxiety with every breath, depression trailing close as death. Yet in the glass a shift I see, a hidden spark that speaks of me. Not broken whole, though battle-worn, from every wound, new strength is born. I am that girl, yet more than pain, a rising sun after the rain. Beyond the flaws, beyond the fears, a voice of courage breaks through tears.