As I begin choking on words
And gasping for breath
A face comes into my mind
Of someone I have never met

Everything I knew
Was erased from my mind, a clean slate
Lay before me

Breaths keep coming and going
The oxygen supply in the room running out
It could be minutes or even seconds before I can breathe no longer
A door is opened,
From across the room
A man walks in
Holding a mirror

He tells me, "Young lady, look in this mirror, tell me what you see."
After quickly glancing into the mirror, I see the face that came to my mind
This isn't me, this is someone else
A figment of my imagination
A trick of the mind

This person can't be me
But what if it is?
My mind is whirling
Nothing makes sense
And I am too tired to think of possibilities
At a time like this

I lay my head down to rest
Trying to escape this reality I am in
Maybe if I sleep
My mind won't feel so empty and incomplete

After awakening
I am able to breathe easier
But the man is gone, yet the mirror remains in the spot where he was
I stumble over there, barely enough energy to move at all
And glance once more into the mirror
Still the same face, nothing has changed

All the while I think "This isn't me, this can't be me"