Test of Strength

The old sage had taught her to believe,
In the magical words of faith and trust.
Told her that hey were the charms,
Of all the voodoo,
That one had to practice,
To keep steady and evil away.
So long had she been blind,
Led by simplicity that irrationality could deploy.
She's walked a straight path,
And burnt her way through.
Followed her heart to the hilt,
Then see it shatter into minute
Incredulous pieces.
She bore a smile affixed-
Plastered like plastic,
While her eyes were blank.
The mirth she exuded,
Was none that she felt
Yet the sage had told  her to spread the cheer.
She clapped for others,
And danced for them-
Made herself a part of their joy-
Yet innately was much removed-
To the reality that she saw.
Aloof to most beckoning,
She walked on,
To the silent rhythm of her heart-
To find peace and joy-
Of her own.
Yet the innocuous wish seemed elusive.
As the promises one made to her,
Time and again,
Fell flat as they fell through-
Dragging her along with their
Broken flow.
When retrospective,
She thought back to the sagacious sayings,
And felt her bitterness as bile
Down her throat.
She laughed- aloud-
After years,
Amused at her own folly to follow her heart-
While all along,she could sense
Duality of motives and intentions.
Faith seemed harder to salvage
Than to find-
For all seemed rosy to her eye-
As she accepted most at face value.
Today , though,
When she looked into the mirror,
She could attach no recognition
To the person
Who stood in her reflection.
The eyes were dark,
As chocolate pools of caution-
While the hawk-like gaze was watchful.
Raw amusement crinkled at the corners,
As the wrinkles made their appearance too-
The white orbs, lacked life-
Soulless they seemed ghoulish-
As they looked rigidly at her.
The face had grown older too.
And more expressionless
While the smile seemed even more glassy-
Than what she would have let it be.
She shook her curls,
As the hands reached out to hug her tight,
And she stood, lost in her own self.