I hold up a mirror
and you cannot recognize
your own reflection
I gaze into the water
and you are shimmering
just below the surface
What you cannot recognize
and what I am able to see
are invisibly linked
and I have no words
to describe this to you
so my silence
pierces the cold air
and lands somewhere
only to be covered by snow
or leaves or a new mask
to be worn in the company
of the rest of the world, the people
that hold your gaze and see nothing
but your dark eyes
and I wonder how they
can miss the glowing from inside
you
just flames and
smoldering embers
and then flames
and then
dead quiet.