The Image

I’ve been looking in the mirror

Every day since I was three,

Till a week ago I looked again

And saw it wasn’t me.

For this haggard face with wrinkles

And grey hair that should be black,

Took my place within the mirror,

And it stood there, staring back.

Sure, it registered surprise and seemed

To stare, and be in shock,

And behind me in the mirror stood

Our old grandfather clock,

It was ticking off the moments,

All that I had left of life,

So in case it was an omen, then

I thought I’d call the wife.

‘Can you see that ancient visage

In the glass, Penelope?

It’s supposed to be my image

But I think it isn’t me,’

And Penelope had stood and stared

Then shook her greying hair,

‘Yes, that scar was on your left cheek, dear,

But now it isn’t there.’

I was staring at the visage and

It gave me quite a fright,

For that scar upon my left cheek now

Showed firmly on the right.

And the parting in my hair was not

Just where it used to be,

For most everything was back to front,

So who the hell was he?

‘There’s a demon in the mirror,’

I exclaimed, ‘it has my mole,

And it’s come here from the devil just

To claim my mortal soul,’

So I seized a ball pein hammer and

Attacked the mirror glass,

Till it shattered into tiny shards,

That’s seven years, alas!

We’ve not allowed a mirror in

The house, from then to now,

We won’t invite a demon in,

We’ll keep him out, somehow.

We know we both are ageing, but

We’re not as bad as that,

Penelope will paint her face,

While I just wear a hat.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[T.S. Sky]

Love it. Very entertaining.

[TPK Stories]

Good tale about aging...well written...

[minisla]

Hilarious nothing more than

[Pragati Chaudhary]

Extremely exhilarating

[Devin Gates]

Anything involving mirrors is great stuff!

Interesting!

[HOrPsY_writes]

This is so so true. We hate seeing our ageing self. Not because we don't admit it but because it makes us succumb to mortality and stops us from doing things at our own pace, things we really want to do, just because we think we are running out of time.
Nice piece.

[Avinash]

I am also not a big fan of mirror for the same valid reasons.

[Coyote Poetry]

A amazing tale my friend. Those mirrors can make us feel old and weak. See strangers and ghosts. I see my father face today. Thank you David for sharing the outstanding tale.
Coyote