not me

I no longer recognize

myself.

A mirror shows

only a blank space

where my face

should be,

and my body

when did this strange apparition

take its place?

How much can I change

without my self

recognizing | am not

who l used to be:

when did I become

"not me"?

What alchemy is needed

to convert gold to dross,

or, more challenging perhaps,

dross to gold?