Aha, I thought, now, I'll find me,
   and discover  within, the mystery.
I looked into a mirror to view
   who was that, looking at you?
Carefully, each step was taken
   no undue mistakes to be maken.

From the left, pulling away that mask,
   to discover the truth that I had asked.
Years of toiling at this hardest chore,
   peeled away, only to uncover....more!
Under that mask, tattered and torn,
   another was there, laughing with scorn!

Crying with tears at my simplicity,
   then a new challenge to  discover me.
Layers and layers, each tossing aside,
   till I thought, surely no more could hide!
Each one represented a new facet in stone,
   some needed polishing, some left alone.

Shifting my attitude, so important here,
   now looking forward to see what was there.
Each face, though different, from others before,
   got lighter and easier as I trusted more.
This lesson, the hardest, I came to see, that
   God's face is in each, I pretended to be.

Kay Ekwall©1999