Mirror Mirror
We look at our own reflection
more when we’re insecure
and the more we don’t like what we see
the more we look
But sometimes the mirror plays tricks
and the persona fades to black
Sometimes the truth is reversed
and the looking glass looks back
Ducklings don’t see themselves as swans
and Queens talk to mirrors on the wall
Sometimes a natural beauty
defines its worth by its likeness
and can’t look away
But we lose our looks as we age
as we set our unmasked gaze
on the moon’s unflinching oracle
until our faces reflect
the sun of our days
and we see beyond
as we look away
_______Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United
January 17th, 2025 1:10 am
Sometimes a natural beauty
defines its worth by its likeness
and can’t look away
Yes. I need to repeat that to myself. I know it’s true but I need reinforcing.
January 17th, 2025 1:53 am
A friend recently disliked a photo I took of her. She felt it was unflattering, making her look her undisguised age. But I saw it as a delightful character study, her wry humour, warmth and compassion shining through.
January 17th, 2025 7:21 am
Sometimes the truth is reversed
and the looking glass looks back… true that!
January 17th, 2025 8:54 am
Yes, and the truth of who we are is not only in the looking glass but mirrored all around us, although we
tend pretend that it’s not.
January 17th, 2025 3:51 pm
Great philosophical poem and that last stanza is beautiful
January 17th, 2025 8:37 pm
We all reflect until the candle stop burning.
January 18th, 2025 8:39 am
That last stanza…..sigh. That’s why I have a dimmer in the bathroom. Lovely poem
January 18th, 2025 9:52 am
Every look into the mirror has a funhouse element to it–one where we are the ones distorting the view.
January 19th, 2025 6:26 pm
Such a beautiful reflection … on perspective, as we age. I love this.