The Truth About Tigers

Each morning, a slight revision,
colored by thoughts
                and opinions
both mine
                and the ones I’ve borrowed.

The mirror doesn’t argue.
It only offers
                    today’s version of me.

Somewhere, in the silver hush
                                of reflection,
a stranger lifts my hands,
measures the distance
                     who I am,
                     who I almost was.

Choices aren’t made

                                 only followed.

  A series of events, disguised as free will
        the past bends into the shape of my body,
                             a path unfolding just as I arrive.

                             Perhaps I’ve always been

            walking backward,
      mistaking repetition
for progress.

A shift in light.
A warping of glass.

No one
              ever
                        steps fully

                into focus.

First published in The Awakenings Review, Spring 2026, Volume 13, Number 1.