Windows and Mirrors

The attitude we adopt,
the choices and actions made each day
are the sand, soda ash, and lime,
melded together to form glass,
rising before our eyes,
windows we create
through which we see the world.

Those windows formed by love and hope
show the beautiful byways of progress,
the revitalizing sunshine of purpose,
and the cleaning rains of forgiveness.

Those made from fear and despair
show the broken castles of abandonment,
the dreary fog of aimlessness,
and the oppressive rain of dread.

Perhaps one day as we gaze
through the windows we have made,
the light might catch our eyes just so,
and we see that the heat
and the pressure of the years
have turned our experiences to silver,
coating much of the glass.

So the windows we have made
to see out into the world
have now become mirrors --
and mirrors reflect what’s inside.