Lennie

Upon a ragged Sun he perched,

His back to the damp wall.

A torch protecting royal runes;

Its flickering warmth: that was all.

"My mirror forever shows the truth",
The man would often say,
As busy feet walked past
On a busy day.


Mirror, you have tricked us all:
Led astray your owner's trust,
His faith in you.
Or the feet that walk past would know
The truth they journey to.


Familiar feet crossed him oft,
Silent, lost and rude,
On the way to their warm homes,
Their well-earned traps of solitude.

Shiny shoes, many a time
Would throw in a pompous penny.
"Alms for the madman",they laughed
"And for his mirror Lennie."


And Lennie said naught to them.
Or maybe they did not look?
For no feet ever took
Any notice of the man
Inside the fool, the beggar, the scum.
No more than those that walk past now.


Mirror mute, on the dust you lie,
As the busy feet pass by
Unconcerned. Blind?
Unaware of the absence of a life
In the alley. And a corpse left behind.


Mirror, cracked, beyond repair,
You knew the roots of the man's despair
His delirium.
For you're well aware that truth will out
Only when eyes that seek
Behold your form.

Not while blind feet sleepwalk to the beat of a drum.

Reviews

[light and ashes]

I really like this poem alot.
"Mirror, cracked, beyond repair,
You knew the roots of the man's despair
His delirium.
For you're well aware that truth will out
Only when eyes that seek
Behold your form.

Not while blind feet sleepwalk to the beat of a drum."

I love the last line. It pulls it all together. It is true the mirror can tell the truth or it can lie. Mostly the mirror is our perceptions. Mostly I think its because people are afraid to embrace the truth, for what they may find may be alot uglier than they ever imaged, 100

[Ruth]

This is exquisite! Sensational work...shall linger in my mind :) x

[Lydia]

Amazing. It definitley captures the reader. Love it!