Everyday she looks at herself in the mirror
but doesn't really see
             ...until today

Never realized until now
just how much depth
        superficial lines can behold...


She  t
         r
          a
           i
            l
             s
                along the scar on her left cheek

and remembers
just how much it hurt that day...
...the wound has healed,
though the heart is taking
a longer time to catch up


She   t...r...a...c...e...s...
the lines on her palm,
mulling over what fate has dealt her,
heart and mind interconnected
by the invisible lines of reason and feeling
fate lines to heart lines to life lines


worry lines, age lines and laugh lines
each tell a story
each a silent witness to her life
of sadness, of growing up, of happiness
...of loving and living


Crossing that finish line
is inevitable
She's getting there...
ever so slowly, and she savors each step
completely content with the etched lines
that she gathers along the way...