I. The Mirror’s First Glimpse
Once, in the quiet blush of 2016,
I became your mirror—
shaping my days to echo your desires.
I learned to paint with light and shadow
and muted my own music
to capture the light you adored,
forgetting that in each borrowed hue,
a piece of me dimmed.
II. The Faded Confession
In 2021, our paths converged
in a whispered moment of skin and secrets,
a fleeting communion of unsaid dreams.
For just a breath,
we shared the language of desire—
yet I remained a stranger to my own voice,
lost in the silence between our echoes.
III. The Weight of Truth
Now, I behold you anew,
not in the fragments of our past,
but in the steadfast arms of another—
a being whose eyes, though partially veiled,
see with a clarity I never mustered.
I reached out to them in cautious confession,
spilling the darkness of a soul
that struggled under its own weight.
IV. The Gentle Anchor
And as his gentle words cradled my confession,
I saw the truth:
You did not seek the fragile gleam
of a mirrored reflection,
but the gravity of an honest heart—
a presence that anchors,
that holds the weight of a life fully lived.
V. The Shadow’s Reckoning
Perhaps in my yearning to mirror you,
I was too light,
a fleeting shadow dancing on sunlit glass—
while true love, in all its depth,
demands we be unyielding in our own form.
VI. The Whole Self
Now, I learn that love is not the art of mimicry,
but the tender courage of being whole—
a quiet, enduring weight that holds us
even in the darkest hours.
Jedidja Kakuva is a Namibian data professional and aspiring writer. They are currently studying Mathematics and Physics at NSSCO level while developing a financial management platform aimed at supporting small and medium enterprises in Namibia. This is their first publication.