The Girl in the Mirror

I was staying in the village

That was known as Banzhushan,

In the mountains, in the Province

That the Chinese call Hunan,

It was perched atop the mountain

You could reach, and touch the sky,

But there were no single women,

And the men up there were shy.

 

They were poor, could offer nothing

To entice a willing bride,

They earned little from their labours,

And their houses, poor inside,

So the girls would leave to travel

Down the mountain to the plain,

Where they’d find a richer husband

Than the farmer, sowing grain.

 

So the men would send out raiders

To the outskirts of the towns,

And they’d kidnap straying peasants,

All the women that they found,

And they’d target younger widows

Who would not put up a fight,

Then would carry them to Banzhushan

Protected by the night.

 

I had met a village elder

By the name of Zhang Fan Cheng,

He was ancient, a magician,

One the Chinese call yāorén,

He invited me to dinner,

It was simple, shoots and rice,

He was dignified and courteous,

But caught me by surprise.

 

In the further room, a mirror

Stood at length, both straight and tall,

The frame was wrought in silver

And it leant against the wall,

He showed it to me proudly

Then asked how much would I pay?

For just 5,000 R.M.B.

He’d sell it me, today!

 

I reached out to feel the silver,

Was it fake or was it real?

He sensed my hesitation

Then he motioned, ‘You be still!’

And plunged his hand into the glass

The mirror let him in,

His arm up to the elbow

Against science, against sin!

 

He reached his arm behind and pulled,

A girl came into sight,

She was standing in the mirror,

He was holding her so tight,

And she stared, while looking at me

And she said: ‘Qing bang bang wo!’

I could read it on her lips, and then

The wizard let her go.

 

She had said: ‘Would you please help me!’

But I’d stepped back in the room,

She was nowhere near behind me

Just reflected, in the gloom,

And I saw a tear forming at

The corner of her eye,

The wizard pulled his arm out, and

She waved to me, ‘Goodbye!’

 

I paid the man his money, and

I took the mirror down

On a wooden cart he lent me,

And I took it through Hunan,

Then I packed it on a train and went

Off speeding to Nanjing,

Where I kept a small apartment,

And I turned, and locked us in.

 

I stood the mirror over by

A meagre wooden shelf,

Then I stood quite still before it

Hoping she would show herself,

And I tried to put my arm inside

Like he had done before,

But the mirror was unyielding,

So I stood there, and I swore!

 

That night the girl appeared,

Standing right behind the glass,

And she pummelled on the surface

As if she’d be free at last,

But the mirror was ungiving,

And I couldn’t hear her voice,

So I took a ball pein hammer -

It had given me no choice!

 

She could see me through the mirror,

In alarm, she mouthed ‘Meiyou!’

But her beauty had beguiled me

Though I knew she’d shouted ‘No!’

I was fevered and impatient now

To set this beauty free,

So I swung the ball pein hammer

And it shattered, over me!

 

She fell out through the broken glass,

Lay trembling in my room,

Bleeding, sobbing in the silence,

Like the silence of the tomb,

And she said she’d been imprisoned

Since the days of Qin Shi Huang,

Then she writhed upon the carpet

As her flesh turned into sand.

 

I had wanted to release her

To relieve those tender tears,

But her body, once released took on

The last two thousand years;

She took one last, despairing look

Then withered up to die,

And for years I’ve sought the answer

To the only question - ‘Why?’

 

David Lewis Paget

 

(Glossary -

R.M.B. - Ren-Min-bi - or yuan

Chinese currency.

Yāorén -  magician

Qing bang bang wo - (Ching bang bang wor)

Please help me!

Meiyou - (May yo) - No

Qin shi Huang - (Chin Sher Hwang)

1^st Emperor of China - 246-210 BC)

Reviews

[Tate Morgan]

Now that's a wild ride I cant imagine but that it came from your days in the east.I suppose many of their superstitions are much different from ours .I always like to see them portrayed.Always a pleasure to read your inventions .It is really enjoyable to see that you have such a childish nature in a grown man
your friend Tate

[Cree Nations]

ah such a wicked being that often might be found on the other side of a looking glass, and sadness dwells within the mirror that might have been left on the shelf.

Your words really took me there. I was actually there with you and felt my heart ponder asking myself why?

che

[Debbie_Philly]

Always so Powerful... Deep and your writing always makes the reader think and question.... really an amazing piece !!!

[Cole Hayley]

I love and admire the work you put into these amazing pieces of poetry, you are very strong at telling your story though a poetic format. I've read almost all your pieces and you always manage to tell that very good story, in a clear and easy accessible way. I want to challenge you tho, I want to see something a little diffrent. You have mastered this type of poetry, I want to see, like Maidahl has said, for you to broden your horizons a little. I would LOVE to see a cryptic piece from you, or maybe even a full narrative story? These are things I look forward to in the future, cheers!

[Laura Maidah]

it's about three poems in one. Well written, but it's a lot to digest and really staggered in pacing and tone. It's very, very good, but you write the same poem over and over again. I've left this comment to someone else before about expanding your horizons. It can really hone your craft and multiply your voice and personality as a writer. Just give it a thought.

[MOON]

You tell such great short stories in poems and here a folktale told with such dramatic flare and humour and perhps a moral too our strong desire to possess. Lovely

[Wendy Seames Garner]

A haunting story told by an amazing storyteller! The influence of your world travels shows here - what a life you have led.

[Fréyjä Helv..]

Oooooh! I love reading this piece so much... I enjoyed it and was hooked instantly by the brilliant rhyming patterns and its story. Such a wonderful poem. It's a pleasure to read your works... Thank you... :)

[A Jainam Mehta]

wonderful fantasy. while reading, it created visuals in my mind.

[That_Girl]

Quite an interesting piece. The ease of your words is remarkable and it all flows so nicely. Very well written. I envy your talent. :)

[BlackRose]

What an adventure you could say. Love it! Bravo, Bravo!! You did it again as always, never disappointing. And again how it seems to roll off your tongue so easily and your use of the right words so expressive.