Never Too Much to Ask

I begged of you,
wait for me,
in the mirror there,
just as I saw you truly,
your potential and inner worth,
far too big for current britches,
circumstances beyond reason.

I begged of you,
stay clear, stay free,
wait for me
to come into my own,
and I promised you,
I'd be back to take you along,
you, the me I knew I was.

I begged of you,
year after oppressive year,
stay true to the you who is me,
and I swore I'd double back
as you waited, trusting me,
into finally being
free.

Years ago, she had told her girl self to wait for her in the looking glass.  It had been a long time since she had remembered.  Perhaps she'd better look.  She went over to the dresser and a handsome woman had taken her place.  She tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair.  The weight, the length, the glory was there.  --Zora Neale Hurston in Their Eyes Were Watching God