Eat My Reflection

I eat my reflection
to keep the image clean
swallow every doubt
every flaw
every scream

Pride turned cannibal
chewing on the parts of me
that might be real

Every mirror is a battlefield
where I have to come out on top
or smash the glass

I lean in
tilt my head
flex
pose
smooth the edges
till I give myself a pass

If anyone suggests
I might not be as perfect as I sell
I laugh in their face
then go home
and pick myself apart in private
like a corpse in a locked case

I pretend I don’t care what you think
act like I’m above your view
but I scroll through every comment at 3 a.m.
terrified it might be true

If one asshole says I slipped
that I aged
that I lost a step
I build a whole new costume of arrogance
just to protect the rep

I’m starving for worship
and choking on it
needing more
just to feel baseline fit

When someone else walks in the room
with more charm
more skill
more presence in the air

I either tear them down with a smile
or wrap them in fake praise
till they vanish in the glare

If I can’t be the best
I’ll be the one who decides
what “best” means
change the rules mid-fight
rewrite the scenes

The sickest part
is knowing I’m rotting
under this gold-painted shell

I can feel the hollow echo
when I laugh too loud
when I sell
this plastic version of myself
I polished for strangers
who wouldn’t visit my grave

But dropping it feels like death
to the kid inside
I never saved

When the glass finally cracks
and the mask slides off
in some future fall
I can’t quite see

Maybe I’ll meet the ugly bastard
under all this pride
or maybe
there’s nothing left
of me