On Reflection
The two-faced mirror offers platitudes
To its own imperfect reflection
And you know it can't be trusted
Looking your own image in the eye
You bear witness to the incessant yearning
Once more to savour that familiar slow kiss
Yet sensing how the story seems to end
Each second of separation feels like a day
Each day an eternity of emptiness
Looking into the pretty vacant void
The multitude of questions is answered
Solely with a scream of perfect sorrow
But surely there must be a point
Sharp enough to cause this pain
A shard of mirrored glass perhaps
A point to driving an empty highway
All night long with burning eyes aching
To embrace an everlasting darkness
Yes surely you reason there must be a point
In continuing to love a beautiful illusion
That constantly speaks all the right words
An illusion that blows such sweet virtual kisses
Making you thirst for one more lonely day
quenched with as yet unshattered dreams
The two-faced mirror stares bleakly back at you
And you are suddenly aware that the arc of a tear
Is reflecting infinitely diminishing images of your love
Whilst memory's own misty mirror internally reflects
On so many possibilities that never were
And too many probabilities that never will be
Font size:
Submitted on September 24, 2014
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:04 min read
- 1 View
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAX XBX XCD XXX EXX CBD EAX XCX XXX XXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,191 |
Words | 212 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"On Reflection" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/80878/on-reflection>.
Discuss the poem On Reflection with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In