Missing In Action

The reflection in the mirror is nothing like

What I remember it being.

It's tired and its eyes are empty

Lifeless and void of any motivation to keep going

Reaching a hand out to make sure it's me,

I pull back in shock as it mocks my movements.

All the dreams I once had seem to fall flat the moment

I step away from the haunting reflection before me.

It moves back too, the distance between us growing

Bigger and bigger

Yet it's not enough to actually separate me from it.

I hate what I see. I look so lifeless and tired

Dead

In a living body.

Each breath I take makes my ribs ache and

Although my heart is still pumping, it's tiring out.

The smile on my face looks so convincing yet it doesn't

Light up the eyes.

"I'm sorry."

The words come from the reflection but I feel them leave my mouth

I don't need to know what it means as a slight comfort

Settles over me.

It's brief but it's enough.

Enough for me to keep moving.

I had once been happy. At one point, I looked forward to each day

In hopes that something new and exciting would happen

But then reality slipped in and I realized

That each day was the same as the past and the ones to come

My dreams became unreachable and unattainable

But it didn't matter anymore

Because the real me

Is missing in action