Starting Back

After the wedding vows fade into routine,
after the hands you held grow up and leave,
after the house grows quiet in the empty nest,
who is the woman remaining?

You gave your time to a marriage,
your heart to your children,
and your years to keeping a home together.

But somewhere along the line,
between being a wife and being a mother,
your own name started to sound like an echo.

When the noise finally clears and calmness settles,
you stand alone before the glass.

Look closely.

Strip away the titles,
the sacrifices,
and the roles you played for everyone else.

Can you still find her?

Do you recognize the soul underneath the quiet?

When your eyes meet the reflection today,
is it still you staring back?

Or are you looking at a woman
waiting to remember who she was all along?