Mirror
For Ellie Hoovs' Unofficial Wonderland Poetry Prompts Challenge
I don't want to die.
Not just yet.
The mirror reminds me of my destiny.
It is preparing me with sag and lag
And line and crease.
I see that I am fading
And I wonder how the mirror can be so cruel?
I am not the fairest of them all
Although I am lustrous pale
But not snow white
- pale grey,
Fading to white,
Fading slowly to dust.
I wish I could see a terrible fish
But all I see is me reflected
Flawed and less.
I like it because it is me
And I don't like it because it is me.
But it's not, is it?
It's a representation of me, if I choose it to be.
I will not be defeated by a reflection.
It is insubstantial, fleeting:
It's there and then it's gone.
Why hold to what it shows me?
I will look less-
And live more.
*
The line "a terrible fish" is a reference to Sylvia Plath's poem "Mirror", link to which is below:
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'20/20'
"Do It Again" the track that would ultimately open the Beach Boys final album on Capitol Records which was released on February 10th 1969 had originally been released as a single in August of 1968. The track was the first of many post-Pet Sounds era throwbacks to the early Beach Boys sound which would become continually more cliched and eventually lead the Beach Boys to the level of self-parody they would eventually succumb to in the 1980s while their closest contemporaries The Beatles nearing the end of their run in 1969 would go on to be viewed as the most influential band of all time. However, the song itself is not bad on its surface, and it opens with a futuristic sounding (for 1969) drumbeat captured by then-Beach Boys engineer Stephen Desper using tape delays on the drums performed by Dennis Wilson and John Guerin. The song has been re-recorded numerous times over the years on various Beach Boys-related projects most notably the 2011 re-recording at Capitol studios featuring the five surviving Beach Boys at the time backed instrumentally by various members of both the Brian Wilson Band and Mike Loves touring "Beach Boys" to promote the then upcoming Beach Boys 50th Anniversary reunion tour in 2012. The hammering and power drill sound at the end of the song was an excerpt from a track called "Workshop" that was to be a part of the uncompleted "SMiLE" album.
By Sean Callaghan5 days ago in Beat
Comments (17)
Well done on your honorable mention, Rachel.
This was so craftily written, I love the references!! Congrats on honourable mention this week, Rachel!!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Overthinking isn't a good thing!!! Loved your stream-of-consciousness poem!!! Congratulations on the Leaderboard Honorable Mentions.
Quiet strength in this words.
Brilliant take on the prompt. I agree with your conclusion “I will look less- And live more.” Our external appearance is just our packaging, not our essence/soul, which should improve with age.🧐
Wow Rachel - this one hits me in the feels. I feel a certain way about myself and my reflection does not match what I feel. It's a very strange paradox. I don't know how others see me. I don't know that I want that answer. I just want to feel aligned and maybe have someone see that and appreciate it.
I was a bit thrown by the terrible fish line, but after reading the Plath poem it makes perfect sense! Like others, I love those final two lines!
Firstly, I loved your poem, Rachel! It forced me as a reader to consider my reaction to my own reflection and the thoughts it awakens, and that’s a good thing. Secondly, thanks for sharing the Sylvia Plath poem. It is amazing. I read the Bell Jar over 20 years ago and have never read her poetry. Clearly that needs to change! When I was decades younger than I am now, I would sometimes regard my reflection peripherally rather than head on to see if I might catch a fleeting glimpse of my true self. I’d like to think I’m an open book these days or at least a lot more so than all the world saw was the mask I wore.
I will look less and live more - sounds like a mantra we should all live by. Really enjoyed this Rachel.
I like your idea on how the mirror is still just a representation, even though we often treat as the final arbiter of who we are. Well done!
Hang the drapes! Cover the mirrors! Look no more! But what if my hair is mussed or I have a piece of spinach stuck in my teeth?
Yes, love this so much, Rachel. Funny, I published a poem about a mirror reflection today, so reading yours affirms a long-held struggle. I must look less and live more!
I love the line “I will not be defeated by a reflection.”
Yes, we gotta just live. Feel the moment. Not waste time looking/thinking too much about things. Loved your poem!
Oh wow, a bit of intertextuality! I was wondering about that fish line, Rachel! I will check out her poem in a tick. I don’t think I’ve read much of Plath’s. And absolutely..what is anything anyway hahah except the meanings we attach to things. Yet, indeed we all struggle with age from time to time. I always love that line in that movie “Wonder” based on the children’s book, “and this line shows me where I’ve been”..or something similar which I always thought resonates. Not sure if you’ve seen it.. Enjoyed some of the earlier humour in your piece too. 👍
Love this line - pale grey, Fading to white and flawed and less. So well done and clever. The mirror is a bit of a pain in the arse really. Tend to avoid them! 💜