A poetry prompt from elenaspoetry, “a letter to my stranger self”.

You grew and shrank like that girl
in Wonderland.
Drink me, eat me, taste me.
But nobody knew what to expect of you.
You were constantly shifting to be who they wanted,
but
they weren’t satisfied.

One day,
you looked in a mirror
and dissolved
into a million pieces,
breaking apart and yet unrecognizable
as a stranger is.

You thought you’d finally know yourself
underneath all those layers,
but the truth is
you’d hidden away so long,
you had become unfamiliar to even you.

I wish I could remind you
of who you were,
but I’m only now starting to unravel the girl underneath.

She is lovely, searching, yet
something phenomenal nonetheless.

If you see her,
let her know I’m looking for her
too.

Isabelle Palerma