mirror in the room

brought from the market, one of a kind

previously shattered, fixed, and now mine

draped in a blanket, I pulled and it begun

a beautiful mirror, no longer wrapped in plum

stood tall and yet tarnished

apologetically lethargic

the room smelled old and the air had a taste

yet nothing was wrong it was in nature’s state

like the world was on fire, the light caught on the brass

the candle flickered twice, and slept calmly at last

the night inhaled a deep breath over my skin and my face

after a second, barely glowing, I was met just by my gaze

now I could only tell my heart to continue its beat

for my senses were exhausted, and here I began to think

never to be viewed again in this way or in this sense

how uncommon it is for me to feel dread that’s long since been dead

scared to look, scared to see

all of the things a reflection reveals you to be

.

because if it isn’t the greatest love I’ve ever known

then it’s a name I won’t recognize carved into a headstone

and if it isn’t the most striking beauty I’ve ever seen

it’s the gray in the rain in the city, lacking green

if it isn’t a girl who’s loved the oceans in her tears

then it’s a whale searching for the surface, one more breath to settle the years

if it isn’t a warm home and a circle of loving friends

then it’s distorted laughter and every bittersweet end

and if it isn’t a child, glowing and sin-free

then it can only be one other thing, how it was meant to be

mirror in the room and eyes that cannot see

I am consumed by what may or may not make me, me.