like a mirror

Seeing the negativity
in someone else
is like a mirror.

It wouldn’t hurt so much
if it didn’t touch
that raw space in ourselves,
where our own demons hide.

It can be a little epiphany,
if we allow it to be,
a chance to cast off
another layer of denial,
to lay bare our own hurt,
so we can begin to heal,
and meet the world
with compassion,
instead of disapproval.