Mirrors of Mist

Misty Mirror Man

Shaving this morning I espied in my mirror an unfamiliar face

Mimicking my every expression, occupying a similar space

Face partially hidden by the steam from my shower

What is he doing watching me at such an ungodly hour?

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In this stranger I saw echoes of a child of not so long ago

Now with wrinkles and lines that surely can’t be so

Raising our hands, we touched through the foggy sheen

Fingertips to fingertips; his touch smooth, soulless, like a machine

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Does this old man in my mirror recall riding his first school bus?

So proud to be a big boy, waving bye to mom with nary a fuss

PB&J in a brown paper bag with a juice box of lime

Meeting my oldest friend Michael in the cafeteria line

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Does he remember mama’s hug when he got home that day?

Or the few tears she shed “due to the sun’s powerful rays”

That was what, a month or so back at most?

Memories so powerful, maybe he’s their ghost?

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Does he recall scraping his knees the first time Dad let go

Of that two-wheel bicycle with pedals trimmed just so?

Did he fill the basket with boy’s adventure books?

Read them under a tree despite other’s odd looks?

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Does this spirit remember the plot of the first story I ever wrote?

About a boy, a magic ring, and a quite cantankerous goat

Is he familiar with the color of the ribbon that hung on my wall?

For getting second place in the science fair at the mall

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Did this spirit watch with me a live action play of Peter Pan?

Mary Martin flying on stage teaching Lost Boys that indeed they can

Does this apparition recall learning how to surf?

Three foot high gigantic waves that pounded against the turf

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What about just last week when I went on my very first date?

Proud of a brand new license; the run down car that made me late

My dog Dixie who died in my arms, her last act to lick my tearful face?

That fumbling first kiss with Susan as my heart pounded and raced?

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Does he recall the terror when first we made love ‘neath bright moon?

Blanket spread on a sandy beach while listening to her favorite tune

Scratchy transistor radio that was playing music so sweet

As the Righteous Brothers helped me sweep Susan off her feet

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Mom and Dad cheering just a few days ago as my diploma I received

Hearts bursting with pride for what their young man had achieved

Was he there when I went off to my first semester of college?

Or when I graduated cum laude bursting with new knowledge?

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Did this apparition stand next to me when darling Emily said I do?

Was he there when my firstborn breathed with lungs so new?

Did he look in wonder at those deep dark little eyes?

Or stroke perfect itty bitty fingers, listen to gurgling sighs

Does he recall the smell changing that first dirty diaper?

Did he read my kids to sleep with a story of Hamlin’s Pied Piper?

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Was he with me when yesterday I played ball with my grandkids?

Did he scream his lungs to bursting as into homebase they slid?

When I finally got that promotion was he lurking behind these eyes?

Maybe he’s the conscience that nags me if ever I tell lies

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Look at those understanding eyes in a face I scarcely know

I swear this imposter knows things, he’s staring at me just so

Maybe this spirit in the mirror sees my every secret, feels just how I feel

Would I find a kindred spirit in you if your soul I could peel?

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From Misty Man in the Mirror runnelled a spectral tear of sorrow

Perhaps missing Mom, Dad, Uncle Danny or dear friend Karl

-All those departed loved ones done with their allotted tomorrows

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T’were this a Dickens story, Mirror Man would be Ghost of Christmas Future

For no way is he my present, of this I’m truly too sure

He says,” Yes, I was there all along - I recall all that and more

I’ve earned every wrinkle throughout our many days before

So when you look in this mirror and wonder at this lined old face

Recall how each wrinkle was properly earned running life’s grand race”

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Wiping a palm across the mist over the stranger’s fog-shrouded smile

I knew the ghost in the mirror had walked with me every joyful painful mile

As I turned away those wrinkles and lines, like yesterday, faded away

Somehow I think my old friend will return, but tomorrow’s another day