The girl I left behind

I feel her close to me today

The girl I left behind

The one with golden hair

And a heart wide open

To life and dreaming

Who had within her the power

To make those dreams real

The one who got lost

And learned to wear

An overcoat of shame

To cover her beauty

And deep feelings

The one who learned to cry in pain

Rather than cry out in anger

When hurt or hurting

She is here now

I am seeing her when I look in the mirror

I feel the lost potentials she had

Returning

The hope that there could be future

No longer filled with so much loss and so many broken dreams

Still defining the present

And yet the losses are there

She survived them

And together we grieved each one

But let that grief now

No longer be the final answer

Let me take her hand

As we travel together

Through the life that is left

With an open heart

Ready for love