The Reflection in the PoolA Poem by David Lewis PagetI’d
hidden away the mirrors Packed
them up and sent them off, Taken
the shine off the saucepan lids, Sandpapered
the coffee pot, Everything
that reflected I’d Sand-blast,
like the sliding doors, Even
got rid of the polisher For
shining the wooden floors. It
was very like narcolepsy when She
saw her face on a plate, She’d
go in a trance and sit for hours In
a crazy, dreamlike state, I’d
take away the reflection and She’d
sit and weep for hours, ‘You’ve
taken away my beauty,’ she Would
say, and take cold showers. It
seemed like a terrible sickness that She
loved her looks so much, She’d
say, ‘If you won’t let me see myself, I’ll
just make do with touch,’ She’d
run her fingers over her face Explore
each crease and mound, And
sigh to her satisfaction as She
felt her lips turn down. I
couldn’t get rid of the garden pool That
flowed on in from the brook, Babbling
over the standing stones From
the woods at Nether Hook, I’d
catch her kneeling beside the pool And
staring into its depths, Smiling
at each reflection that Would
ripple with every breath. ‘Beware
of the evil Water Sprite,’ I
told her more than once, ‘He
takes advantage of lovely girls For
he hates to be outdone. He’ll
lure you into a shady pool With
guile, and his tender lies And
hold you down ‘til you surely drown, You’ll
avoid him, if you’re wise.’ She
told me then of a vision that She’d
seen, that of a prince, He’d
smiled at her from the water but She
hadn’t seen him since. ‘That’s
not a prince but the Water Sprite And
he’s trying to lure you down, To
put your face to the water, but I’ve
told you once, you’ll drown.’ The
water was babbling gently on A
sunny day in Spring, In
shades of the weeping myrtles and The
sound of cuckooing, Miranda
was knelt beside the pool And
I saw her head go down, When
claws reached out of the water Pulled
her in, without a sound. I
raced across and I seized her hair And
I pulled her from the pool, But
claws had raked at her pretty face, She
said, ‘I feel a fool! I
should have listened to you, I know But
I thought that just one kiss…’ But
he had turned to a monster and Had
bitten her rose red lips. I
put the mirrors all back in place And
I bought new shiny pans, Polished
the floor, you can see your face But
she hides behind her hands, She
never looks in a mirror now Though
her scars are healed and white, But
goes each day to poison the pool To
kill off the Water Sprite. David
Lewis Paget © 2013 David Lewis PagetFeatured Review
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8 Reviews Added on November 24, 2013 Last Updated on November 24, 2013 Tags: narcolepsy, touch, brook, sprite Author
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