human beings

Just a human being

today when i looked into the mirror
i saw a human being
not good or bad
not a woman or a monster
for many years when i looked
i didn’t see anything
i had vacated - i was safe
as a child i was sure
that if i looked hard enough
i could be something else
something that was safe
i could be a horse, or a bird
now i am back and
a friend told me
“when i see you, i see a human being
just like me - do you see me?”
and i did see him
there was a human being looking out of his eyes
we human beings are not perfect
we make mistakes
sometimes we hurt each other
sometimes we love each other
but now that i inhabit my flesh again
i long to see other, imperfect humans
accepting me for who i am
hoping they really see me

today when i looked into the mirror
i saw a human
just a human being