Is My Reflection Who They See

Have you ever thought how people see you

Not in the present

Lord knows I think about that too much

Think long-term

Think about people you remember from your past

The stranger you oddly recall walking past in the store as a child

An old friend of your parents’

An elementary school teacher

The friend you found in college

You knew the friendship wouldn’t continue, but that was okay

I had a friend like that

We bonded over basketball, school and the absurdity of politics

He’s a lawyer now, in a city near my best friend’s home

I wonder if he thinks of me

I obviously think of him

It’s overwhelming to think people will remember me

Forming ideas of me off one encounter that changes over time

So many possibilities for friendships and love if only more time had been allowed

Yet too many possibilities to dwell

When I look in the mirror do I see who they remember

What have their minds made me

Years from now, when I look in the mirror, will I see the man a child once admired

Were we to meet again, would he be disappointed

By no fault of my own but by his own imagination

Of who I was and what I would become

Everything I do will be remembered, even if out of view

Sins dealt with alone will shape how I carry myself

They can see it without knowing what it is

Who am I when they remember me