Altered Memory

I saw her just the other day,
And barely caught the face.
Her memory had been stored away
In some forgotten place.
She looked at me but didn't know
Who I had grown to be,
Or maybe didn't want to show
That she remembered me.
I watched her for a moment or two,
But shied from being rude.
I searched for something, just a clue,
That gave away her mood.
She acted different than the way
That I remembered her.
I didn't expect her looks to stay
The same as how they were.
But something deep within my mind
Said that she hadn't changed.
The truth, it seemed, I'd left behind;
The fact I'd rearranged.

My mind replayed a book I'd read
About how thought proceeds.
What we perceive within our head
Is changed to suit our needs.
Then all the things I held as truth,
My mind began to ponder.
Conceptions I had formed in youth,
My ignorance, they were under.
I thought on this all through the night.
Without sleep I went long.
What I thought wrong just may be right,
And what was right is wrong.
This madness pressed upon my brain,
Possession, the final intent.
My sanity drowning in lunatic pain,
No reasoning left to dement.
My soul was weary with the fight.
The war then came to naught.
I saw that girl again last night.
She wasn't the one I had thought.