Poem: Like Turning off a Light

by Alissa Sammarco Magenheim

Like turning off a light,
Time stopped
The era was ended,
And suddenly I sat
Staring at myself
In the mirror.

Fingers tracing lines,
Pretending that all my sorrows
Were fulfilled and borrowed
From someone else.
Pretending that sighs stopped
And crying had no more food
When my laughter
Cascaded across the room.

Pretending I had a voice,
That no one had more to say
Then I.
Needing a Choice,
A way out of the bright
Shining falseness.

Mirror faded,
Twilight pausing.
And drawing lines,
I flickered.