A Child, A Mother, An Addict

Displaced, 

tears crystallizing on my face

I claw and I scratch

my heart burns with regret.

I am helpless in your embrace.

A lover’s cold arms.

Holding,

cradling my soul in disgrace

talons finding chinks in the armor

that I wear to protect my heart.

You eat away,

eroding the foundation,

the very truth of myself.

Calling forth the beast within

making me confront myself.

Mirror image

a horror to be seen.

A sneer,

a snarl,

lips curled in defense

I raise my hand and shatter the glass.

Mirror mirror

an image I can’t compete

a child, a mother, an addict

a soul withering in her embrace.

© Jay-lyn Doerksen

1/27/16

***Another poem from 2016 that I love