Look into that flat reflective glass.

Do you- can you- see?

That thing staring back at you.

Hungry, mean. Down-right foreign.

Its endless pool of darkness you call eyes watch you.

From so far away, it looks like an animal.

Undomesticated. Untamed.

Your eyes slide down to the dark circles under its pools.

It hasn't slept in so long.

It yawns, showing you oddly pointed teeth.

So unhuman.

Its hair is a wild pile of uncontrolled strands.

The eyebrows on its forehead are caterpillars.

Just waiting to turn into butterflies.

And then they’ll fly away.

You’re so close to its eyes that you look at them again.

Rage. Hatred. Pain.

All mixed perfectly into the endless oceans.

The light hits them, showing cracks and shards of glass.

And a little orange mixed in with the brown irises.

The brown and orange melt away into warm, salty tears.

You see- finally see how vulnerable this monster is.

You want to take something to its throat.

To destroy it; you could use anything.

A knife. Scissors. A fork.

You envision its downfall.; the pale white skin of its throat

separating to show that it really does bleed.

It mouth opens up into an O of horror.

It gags and spits up blood.

It glares at you.

And remains standing.

You are again looking at the strands, the caterpillars.

The pools.

Unbloodied. Untouched.

Your hand seems like a distant memory as it

floats up and touches the mirror.

three words somehow find their way past your locked lips.

“What am I?”