My mirror

On reading; 'I am the only being whose doom,'by Emily Bronte.

Dear mirror how is it you see

that all of this, is all of me,

a barefoot child, uncertain still,

with lack of strong and steadfast will.

And when I am away from you

I remain trapped, that much is true;

for though I am thought fair of face,

'tis not so in this secret place,

where my reflection tells it true, 

I am alone, the same as you.

Thus whilst I dream a lover's tryst,

still yet I have to taste one kiss,

or feel a hand entwined in mine

uncared it may not perfect rhyme.

But such is love I have been told,

uncertain, but more bright than gold;

and though I yearn a perfect bliss,

still yet I have to taste one kiss,

which makes me know, it must be true,
I am alone, the same as you.

Reviews

[emipoemi]

"I need a brighter word than bright
And a fairer word than fair" - Keats (Bright Star Movie, 2009)

This is def a Keats-influenced piece, and I dig it. Reminds me a bit of my "Mirrors" poem, but mine is darker, and this.....this is sublime. Stanza 3 Line 4 would make much better sense were it to read something like: "Uncaring for the perfect rhyme" (the line itself is brilliantly meta, and I love it for that as well). Love the "I am alone, the same as you" line, and you did a phenomenal job in repeating it, because that line is gol-den!! and it really captures the philosophical spirit of the piece. Solitude is sad when the rest of the world is in love. Very relatable!! Much enjoyed! Well freaking done!

[Dennis Shanaberg]

There is beauty in loneliness, even when one yearns for the love of another.
A beautiful poem about reflecting on one's relationship with one's self and others. Really felt this one

[alanwgraham]

First of all This is a lovely poem, Beccy, recounting all the uncertainties of a young person facing the future. The use of the mirror as a vehicle to address our own self image is great. I think that What We see is certainly on one level just a true reflection but then on a deeper level is altered by our personality. I must admit that I feel quite young inside but that's not what the mirror tells!
Well done.
Alan

[h d e rushin]

I took the bulb out on the right side of the medicine cabinet/ that way it shows my more youthful side/ the side not crunched by sorrow or sun. And in the bedroom where the full size mirror sits, I keep it half hidden by the 32 inch LG smart tv, so that only my lower half can be seen at any angle. Mirror's are the devil. We never really look them straight in the eye except when were busting a pimple or gauging the depths of our receding hair lines lol. But I reached a point in this poem around the final lines of the second stanza where you too recognize the intimate relationship between mirror and self:

"where my reflection tells it true,
I am alone, the same as you"

I sat up in my chair while reading this...it was as poignant as it was beautiful....thanks for sharing it with us Beccy….dana

[gram linski]

reads like a fairy tale, with a touch of Grimm, no bad thing, uncared it may not perfect rhyme, great abuse of language,

[R.E. Ray]

Beccy, I must first admit I’ve not read much from Emily Bronte. Still, I find a richness and sincerity in this poem that seems consistent with her writing.

The mirror is something that reflects and distorts the truth. We see an image, but our interpretation is biased because we can’t filter out everything we’ve heard others say, what we’ve experienced (good and bad), and how we doubt ourselves. We’re a product of what our mind has processed, and that’s more than a mirrored image.

What I read here is a biased image, but truth to what the narrator believes. I also find something deeper here, the references to touch (hands, lips, etc), suggest she feels unworthy perhaps because she’s not “felt” love, despite knowing others find her physically appealing. That’s the angst, I think, that comes from looking in the mirror. We see an image we often can’t reconcile with our feelings. Another remarkable poem.

[CD Campbell]

I like to only see my reflection in the softest light possible. You know, getting older and all that. But the mirror is a liar, feeds back what it's victim expects, be it vanity or self doubt. I can wax on on all that and act like i'm impervious to it, but if I told you that my own reflection din't bother me in some way, well I'd be a liar..

So let's concentrate on why i think this is a tremendous effort. The rolling beccy gate of the poem is phenomenal. The rhymes are on point like a sharp foil. Quite fond of well written meter and when I start to count stress and syllable, well there is nothing here to disappoint. The meat and subject of the poem is a soul searching philosophical inquiry done very well and the whole poem is just beautiful. I am glad to have read it.

Have good day, Beccy.

[Neville]

This is another real beaut Beccy.. it leaves me wondering about and questioning some of my own values and beliefs, or doubts maybe.....I have a thing about mirrors,.. usually old ones and which have variously featured or been referred to in my own scribbles over the years.. my fascination with them seems to know no bounds.. although I rarely use them anymore for the purpose they were originally intended... Neville

[Christoph]

Not familiar with Emily Bronte. But I expect no context is needed.

This person, dreaming of what they've never known, is such an uncomfortable experience for me.

Not just because they're really missing out. They're lonely and deserve better. Lovely and deserve better. That's sad, sure, but everyone does that.

But we're talking to a mirror. In my experience, mirrors are people we talk to in an effort to convince ourselves of something. But we sound resigned here. Convincing ourselves that love is going to stay a dream.

That's what I'm getting, anyway.

I want this person to get as far away from the mirror as possible and see the world through someone else's eyes.

[Eilis]

I hadn’t read that Emily Bronte poem before. I recently started watching The Tenant of Wildfell Hall miniseries and I felt the same mood in that as in Emily’s poem, and of course, there’s the character of Jane Eyre.

I feel like the idea of knowing one’s own mind and not being easily deceived is an important aspect in all of those Bronte sisters’ works, and also in this poem. The mirror only reflects—we impart meaning on the reflection, but it is not a solitary endeavor to reach our understanding of reflection.

The ideas of love and beauty can seem simple when looked at through a certain lens—the superficial lens of the world at large, but the speaker here seems to recognize the many layered aspects of both things and desiring something more than that.

I suppose the strength of the last line in my mind is that the mirror and the face reflected are one in the same, but here there is power granted to the mirror as a seer in a way. And even though there’s a sense of loneliness reflected by some of the ideas here, I also sense a strength and power of choice. To see oneself as truth and not flinch.

I don’t know. There’s depth to the ideas and I’m still working my own ideas out, but I really enjoyed what the poem sparked in my mind.