Mirror Poems
The Old Pond
by Matsuo Basho
Following are several translations
of the 'Old Pond' poem, which may be
the most famous of all haiku:
Furuike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto
- Basho
......
The Queen's Rival
by Sarojini Naidu
QUEEN GULNAAR sat on her ivory bed,
Around her countless treasures were spread;
Her chamber walls were richly inlaid
With agate, porphory, onyx and jade;
The tissues that veiled her delicate breast,
Glowed with the hues of a lapwing's crest;
But still she gazed in her mirror and sighed
......
Presents From My Aunts In Pakistan
by Moniza Alvi
They sent me a salwar kameez
&nb sp; peacock-blue,
& nbsp; and another
glistening like an orange split open,
embossed slippers, gold and black
&nbs p; points curling.
Candy-striped glass bangles
&n bsp; snapped, drew blood.
Like at school, fashions changed
&n bsp; in Pakistan -
......
Frost At Midnight
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Frost performs its secret ministry,
Unhelped by any wind. The owlet's cry
Came loud--and hark, again ! loud as before.
The inmates of my cottage, all at rest,
Have left me to that solitude, which suits
Abstruser musings : save that at my side
My cradled infant slumbers peacefully.
'Tis calm indeed ! so calm, that it disturbs
And vexes meditation with its strange
And extreme silentness. Sea, hill, and wood,
......
A Display Of Mackerel
by Mark Doty
They lie in parallel rows,
on ice, head to tail,
each a foot of luminosity
barred with black bands,
which divide the scales'
radiant sections
like seams of lead
in a Tiffany window.
Iridescent, watery
......
The Mirror Cracked
by Ayatullah Nurjati
The cracked mirror in the corner of the room holds the image of a gloomy face. Small shards that bounce faintly, like memories that are hard to escape.
Every crack holds a story, about a wound that is slowly healing. There are tears trapped there, in silence that swallows all sound. In a mirror that is no longer intact, you reflect your fragile self.
But in every broken piece of you that is opened, there is strength in accepting the wound.
You taught me the meaning of sincerity, in your cracks that don't seek perfection. Because life is not about looking beautiful, but accepting cracks as part of grace.
Mirror, Please Be Kind
by Injamam Eram
I usually avoid looking in the mirror,
As it reminds me of the duality that I nurture.
While my reflection constantly agonizes,
Here, I try hard to come off as gentle and composed.
I comb my hair, singing old songs, preparing to present myself to the world,
But in the reflection, I see my hair reaching down to my throat, wrapping around my neck, and then choking me,
Muting all the voices I want to make.
My eyes drip blood that flows right into my mouth, making me gallop in all my sadness,
And I selectively hide.
I am always short of words to explain my melancholy,
......
A Black Smile
by Hébert Logerie
Don’t smile with me if you don’t want to
Because I am not a mirror
Don’t be like a bluffer who gives me a black smile
A strange, nervous and abnormal smile
Because I am not a josher
Show me the genuine emotions of you
Give me something normal or natural
I am not asking for anything special
Just be yourself and I will appreciate it
Don’t give something unusual and vile
......
The Infinity Mirror
by Misha Cayne
THE INFINITY MIRROR
Read it as a poem where the mirror is personfied as the artist. So you have to decide for yourself who is she/he/it and what is my relationship to the mirror as an artist personified.
Also as a poem about schizophrenia where the voices are imagined as images or ideas reflected back, and language is also reflected back. Also a stream of consciousness poem.
The Infinity Mirror
Reminiscent of a dream:
......
Mirror
by Taylor CoolBeans
I look into my mirror, the same mirror I look in every day
I am so scared to meet my own eyes, but I can't help to do so
The dread I feel as I stare into my own eyes
My cold blank dead eyes
I feel as though, at that moment, I can't run from myself
I finally have to face who I am
I feel as if I'm forced to look deep into who I am
In my forced self-recollection, I question who I even am
......
