Mirrors

Mirrors

By May Kwek

One dark moon lit night

I walked into a room filled with moonlight

And saw a hundred mirrors each standing on stands

Each one deliberately designed by man’s hand

I walked to the first at the side of the place

Held it up and saw a sliver of my face

‘Disabled’, the words on the mirror said

But I didn’t see me so the image I’d trade

I walked to the next by a painting strange

For the faces there always changed

I looked into the mirror and I saw my face

But not my features, my character, just my race

I set the mirror for race down

And next to some prayer beads another one found

‘Religion’ it said, ‘in most the world’

And saw a perfect but unreal girl

I moved on to the drawers and beside a dress

Found a full length mirror straining under stress

I tried on the dress, did a little turn

And saw in the mirror, not a person, just a woman

As I got rid of the outfit something caught my eye

From the moonlight bouncing off a mirror shy

Dusty and broken lying on the floor

I wondered what it was meant for

It was small and simple, but firmly held in place

Just enough to reflect my face

On its edges was carved one word: ‘humanity’

And when I gazed into it I saw me

Copyright © 2016 by May Kwek