Mirrors

• Ben Martens, Grade 8
• Poetry
• 2006

Mirrors,
Do they really reflect our inner beauty?
Or just show the skin deep covering, like a thin sheet of glass protecting a priceless jewel?
Sometimes I look and see a sad, small, cowering boy,
A mouse in a cats paw
Other times I see a handsome, confident man,
A lion with an iron claw
Do you know what a mirror is without someone to look in it…?
It is somewhat like a blank canvas, waiting for the artist
To paint his creation,
I have often wondered what happens if you break a mirror,
Would it moan before breaking
as if it was trying to hold onto something,
Or would it smash without a sound, as if it wanted to change, as if it was a butterfly struggling to get out of its cocoon.
Would the shards fall to the ground like a tear?
The mind is like a mirror,
Processing everything we see, determining if it is pretty or not.
If we could get rid of this, would the world be a better place?
Would we see people’s hearts, instead of their physical appearance?
Or, would we not care about our looks and become like stray dogs,
Dirty and smelly, without a care
On the other hand, a mirror is like a mind-controlling device
It dominates our thoughts…
Do I look fat in this, is that a pimple?
It laughs at us when we turn our backs, at how foolish we are to believe him
Whatever the outcome, the world would be a better place without mirrors.
No self-conscious people with their down turned faces
Their would just be freedom