Moment of Realization

Image by dbelgard. Caption adapted from Wilhelm/Baynes translation

It’s like you found the magic tortoise
you lost in childhood long ago
and now it whispers secrets in your mind
you never asked to know

It’s like remembering something all at once
you’ve known from many lives before
a thing you’ve always managed to forget
but cannot anymore

Or like you gaze into the mirror of your soul
then look away in quick surprise
to see a face that’s not your own appear
staring back with hollow eyes