Mirrors

The glass is wide, the glass is small,

The frame is short, the frame is tall,

Whate’er the case, ’twould still reveal

The simple, true, profound, surreal.

 

Within a mirror we would see

That which we know ourselves to be.

Yet should we venture deeper we

Would chance on our mortality.

 

Such spectral marvel on the sly

Would change its form as time goes by,

Providing us with subtle signs

Of how our vibrancy declines.

 

No tugs or twitches would we feel

As our soul parts, and makes us kneel

Before the image in the glass,

Informing us it’s time to pass.

 

’Twould, then, extend a tender hand,

And lead us to a wonderland,

Where nothing pains and nothing mars;

Where we may lie amidst the stars.

 

Within a mirror we would see

The person we have grown to be,

And what we all would apprehend

When silenced sounds forebode the end.

-EDP

Reviews

[AllauraRose]

I love this! It gives me Alice through the Looking Glass sort of vibe, none the less I enjoyed it! I really liked the rhyme, it gave the poem that much more. I see what you mean though, we grow through the ages and as we get older we start to fade away and sooner or later we turn into nothing. Another important note is that we need a mirror to see it all, like its the only way we can really see ourselves. Good job, I really enjoyed it!

[emipoemi]

So glad you did! Thank you so much for reading and commenting. Much appreciated.

[Chris Shaw]

This is a talented write, a joy to read. It's not so easy to look in the mirror now. I haven't changed the way I feel about things over the years, but my once youthful vibrant appearance is without doubt on the wane. Fortunately I have good relationships, I have children, grandchildren and they don't care at all about the outward appearance, they know the person inside. But it isn't easy to adjust to your own mortality and to be constantly reminded of the passing years. You have written a poem here with universal appeal.

[emipoemi]

That's precisely what I intend to do with the grand majority of my poems. So glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for reading,

[Chris Shaw]

My pleasure.

[Kathy Van Kurin]

"Mirrors"
emipoemi,
Face to face with our own humanity. Days pass and our countanence shows the marching moments in each changing texture of our skin. The outward is also inward with the changing of who we are and we become different in our lives as well. On the surface of our faces and in the changes in who we are with time a mirror is a place where we must face our selves individually and some times painfully. Mortality is inescapable for sure. Our place will eventually be gone here. I hope that I can leave something good behind and be pleasing to my Lord until that final day.
Blessings,
Kathy

[emipoemi]

Your comments are often thought-provoking to say the least, thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed this

[Kathy Van Kurin]

I did enjoy the challenge of thinking within my own honest self. This is what is good for us. Honesty.

[Zoya]

Such wonderful imagery! The concept was amazing in itself, save the butter-like fluency and great rhymes. Your take on mirrors is very different, and that is what I liked the most. Loved it!

[emipoemi]

Glad you did! Thanks for reading.

[Zoya]

No problem

[audacious]

I absolutely love how vivid this poem is!

[emipoemi]

So glad you do! Thanks for reading!

[H L Rose]

I think this is my favorite of yours. I’m not sure why exactly.

I like the paralleled statements in the beginning, and I like the way the fourth line of the first stanza flows.

I like the idea of “[venturing] deeper” which you mentioned in the second stanza. It definitely gets the wheels in my mind turning with different metaphors about venturing into our mirrors.

I like your mentioning of “time [going] by” in the third stanza. I feel like it gives the poem life by spanning it over just one moment of looking in the mirror. It evokes the imagine the figure in the mirror changing over time.

Stanza four intrigues me and makes me think. It flows into the image I like in the fifth stanza.

The image of a soul departing into a mirror is beautiful. The fifth stanza is full of imagery from a mirror extending it hand to laying blissfully beneath the stars. I also can’t help but love the use of the word “wonderland” in terms of going through a mirror.

Ending on the concept of being “within the mirror” in the last stanza, and what it entails, brings it to a good conclusion.

I think I just really like the overall concept and imagery brought to mind.

I’ve really enjoyed reading this!

[emipoemi]

One of the things I like about analytical reviews is that it amplifies the overall viewpoint, and I as the poet discover hidden things that hadn't upon writing the poem (like "wonderland vs mirrors = Alice Through the Looking Glass". This was one of my first phase poems, so it was written about 8 years ago, and so this new insight to it is fun. I'm glad you enjoyed it (and favour it, even - much thanks!). Thanks for reading. Just an fyi - there's a whole "wonderland" of poems if you simply scroll through my page....of course, not all need be read in one sitting, but they're all there for the enjoyment of the public :)

[H L Rose]

I’ll be going to read those for sure!

[AprilRN1210]

our perceptions can be as deep or as wide as we allow them to be. they can lie or they can be brutally honest. just because the reflection is there, doesn't mean we actually see it. nice rhythm to this piece.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

I love this a lot. i really do, its beautiful

[emipoemi]

I'm glad you do! Thank you!

[Gaia Octavia]

Great theme! The specter of mortality does indeed dwell within each and every mirror. Is it weird I find that comforting? ☺ The first two stanzas are especially strong in their imagery and structure. This is very well done; you should be proud!

[Jessica Lima]

WOW. The first stanza is such a great hook. It was written in a very thought-out way. So intricate, so... I don't even know where I was going anymore. But it was an amazing hook and the rest did not disappoint. I'm excited to go through the rest of your work. I want to find other diamonds awaiting to be discovered. Added it to my favorites. This made me... FEEL.

[emipoemi]

This made my day!! Thank you! Know these poems that I have posted so far are from my first phase of poetry dating as far back as 10 years ago (first phase is roughly 4-5 years in which about 16 poems - maybe a bit more (perhaps 20) - came out....so you aint seen nothing yet! Wait until the more recent poems of phase 3 (the past 3 years). So glad you enjoyed this!