Self Portrait...Pieces

I wrote this when I went back to college after quite a long time away from who I am--I'd buried myself in housework, motherhood, and the mundane, the everyday. I felt like I was dying inside, fading away, and I wanted desperately to find ME again.



A voice called. It said "I'm here."
But no one answered.
It waited, then tried again.
"I'm here."
There was no answer.

The voice tried again.
It was faint, hopeful,
But tired. "I'm here..."
The voice was alone.
And sad.

"I'm here."
It won't quit,
It won't give up
Or give in.
It whispers like a silky thread-

"I'm here."
"I hear you."
So wispy and fragile a reply.
Each voice
seeks the other-

They struggle, those voices,
To reach each other,
Find their way
Back from
The black abyss
Of neglect-

The voices grow
ever more strident,
Insistent,
Refusing to be ignored.
"I'm here."