My life in mirrors

by Martin Elder

Monday 4th January 2021 11:19 pm

There are mirrors out there

In the sky

In the trees

In the earth

On the streets

The buildings

The bricks the tiles

They all reflect back at me

Showing me what I see

Showing this is who I am

Showing everything

The grey the black and the bleak

But I see the blue, the bright, bright, blue

The dazzling radiant sun staring back at me

The rain dark and lashing

Driving into me

The summer soft drops almost warm to the touch

The laughter of children trees and ducks

The bursting blooms fighting to get out

They are all me and I am them

The mirrors of my life

The ones that I hold and embrace

Alongside my children and my wife

I see I hold even those moments

Of fear and uncertainty

The broken the cracks

The chips the holes

And here I stand

With all of these mirrors

Among the coal black ravens

Who circle and wind their crooked tricks

That hide behind the smoke

That I know will so simply burn and be cast away forever

By just one prayer

And the kiss of love upon my breath

Comments

Martin Elder

Sun 10th Jan 2021 10:23

Thanks for reading and commenting Keith. I totally agree about the whole camera scenario. I have found that when I take photographs these days with my phone the subject is not always reflected the way that I have perceived it which talks as much of my photographic inadequacies as it does the phone. But I am learning. I think this is also comment about how we would like to be seen ourselves.

Thanks again Keith

keith jeffries

Sat 9th Jan 2021 17:45

This is such an interesting and thought provoking poem. Mirrors not only reflect what we see but also how we see the reflection which is highly subjective, especially if we don't like what we see. Cameras can have a similar effect. How often have we heard the cry ,"that's not me". We look for what we want to see and hope others do the same but invariably do not.
An intriguing poem
Thank you for this
Keith

Martin Elder

Wed 6th Jan 2021 15:35

Thanks for the likes and thank you to Nigel and Aviva for commenting.
you make some good comments here Aviva thank you. Ultimately I was making a personal comment as I have seen and viewed life in that moment but hoping it will provoke others to consider their own lives. But i can see where there is a bit of a dichotomy between the first part of the poem and the latter.
Thanks again
Martin

Nigel Astell

Tue 5th Jan 2021 02:28

Mirrors sometimes show a different someone
to the someone that all others see.

Aviva Rifka Bhandari

Mon 4th Jan 2021 23:35

I really like the first stanza and the first line of the second stanza.
I suppose that is the generalised segment.

After that it gets very specific and contains a lot I don't relate to.
Doesn't mean it doesn't remain a great poem in entirety.
In full, it is your life in mirrors.
In just the generalised segment it is my life in mirrors.

I know I'm not gonna be able to explain this part well but it is kind of amusing that the title 'my life in mirrors' means 'poet's life in mirrors' aka 'your life in mirrors', whereas if the title said 'your life in mirrors' it would be 'the reader's life in mirrors' which would be 'my life in mirrors'

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My life in mirrors

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