The Girl From Yesterday: A Poem By Elizabeth Lane

 

Today I met a stranger

With the most familiar face

She wore this smile like a silken garment

Purchased with the rarest of gold

She spoke in a tone that I have heard before

Her words of dreams I recall

Justice.

That word was printed on her heart

As if branded with fire

Her whole heart burned with fire

For that matter

Though it remained unconsumed

She spoke of things I knew once

But had forgotten

The way she spoke

Was of the most contagious nature

Passion flowed from every fiber of her being

She practically shimmered with delight

Nothing she said came from anywhere

Save the depths of her soul

I went home

Went straight to an old room

One I hadn’t been in since longer than I can remember

Inside there was dust

I coughed violently as I made my way through the cobwebs

There were loose pieces of paper crinkled on the floor

With faint graphite markings

Fashioned into a poem

There were faded paintings

And broken brushes that once spilled out creativity

I stepped carefully over the shards of broken glass

Turning to see the source

I saw a half shattered mirror

Missing pieces

And I saw the word “justice”

Branded into my heart

But there was scar tissue partially covering it

There were so many scars on my heart

Some I had never seen

But in my heart

There was a tiny glowing ember

A faint light

Like a remaining heat on a piece of charcoal that’s almost burnt out

Then all of a sudden

I realized that stranger was me

She was the girl from my days past

I didn’t even know her

I am the girl with the fire and justice written in her heart

For the first time in years
Among the elements of days past

I can remember myself

And I’m filled with hope

That I can be that girl again

But this time

I will bear the marks

Of love and grace with my burning heart of justice